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https://openalex.org/W1991620800	https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2014.00042/pdf	English	null	Epigenetic Modifications in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia	Frontiers in pediatrics	2,014	cc-by	6,752	INTRODUCTION in oncogenesis (7, 8). The methylation occurs at cytosine (C) bases located 5′ to guanosine (G) in a CpG dinucleotide and often in regions rich in repetitive CpGs known as CpG islands. The methyl groups are transferred to the CpG dinucleotide via DNA methyltransferases (Dnmt1, Dnmt3a, and Dnmt3b) and serve to transcriptionally silence genes downstream of the methy- lated promoter. When aberrant methylation occurs in a cancer cell, it typically results in hypermethylation of tumor suppres- sor genes. This can lead to disruption of key molecular pathways such as apoptosis, DNA repair pathways, cell cycle checkpoints, and cell differentiation as well as result in activation of metas- tasis/invasion pathways, drug resistance, and proliferation signal transduction (9). Epigenetics is the study of biochemical modiﬁcations of chromatin (1) and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer (2). Epigenetic modiﬁcations to DNA are not secondary to changes to the nucleotide sequence itself but rather heritable changes affect- ing the activity of genes and their cellular expression. Examples include DNA methylation, histone modiﬁcation, and alterations in non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs). Each of these mechanisms can alter how genes are expressed or silenced without modifying the DNA sequence. If these epigenetic modiﬁcations lead to silenc- ing of tumor suppressor genes or activation of oncogenes then it is easy to conceptualize how leukemogenesis can occur. Unlike chromosomal translocations or gene mutations, which are permanent,hypermethylation of gene promoters is a reversible event that could be targeted with therapeutic agents designed to alter aberrant epigenetic events. Incorporating epigenetic mod- ifying agents into the treatment of pediatric ALL is an exciting approach that theoretically could have a signiﬁcant impact in the treatment of this disease. This would be particularly true for relapse ALL, which is highly hypermethylated (3–5), and accounts for more deaths than any other pediatric disease and remains the ﬁfth most common pediatric cancer overall (6). Various groups have used DNA methylation studies to investi- gatetheunderlyingepigeneticmechanismsinchildhoodleukemia. In a large cohort of 137 B-lineage and 30 T-lineage pediatric ALL cases, distinct DNA methylation signatures with signiﬁcant concordant correlation of gene expression were found to be char- acteristic of various cytogenetic sub-types (10). In fact, a core set of epigenetically deregulated genes, common to all cases, was identiﬁed; suggesting their central role in leukemia initiation and maintenance. INTRODUCTION Likewise, DNA methylation interrogation of 69 pediatric B-ALL and 42 non-leukemic control samples revealed 325 genes hypermethylated and down regulated, and 45 genes hypomethylated and up-regulated across all the samples, irre- spective of subtype (11). Furthermore, gene ontology analysis of these epigenetically deregulated genes highlighted the role of genes involved in cell signaling, cellular development, cell sur- vival, and apoptosis. Another study investigating 764 cases of newly diagnosed ALL and 27 cases of relapse, identiﬁed 9406 predominantly hypermethylated CpG sites, independent of cyto- genetic background, with each cytogenetic subtype displaying a unique set of hyper- and hypomethylated sites (12). These dif- ferentially hypermethylated CpG sites were enriched for genes in In this brief review, we will focus on the three main areas of epigenetics, which have been implicated in the leukemogenesis of pediatric ALL; DNA hypermethylation, histone modiﬁcation, and microRNA alterations. As we continue to gain better under- standing of the driving mechanisms for pediatric ALL at both diagnosis and relapse, therapeutic interventions directed toward these pathways and mechanisms can be harnessed and introduced into clinical trials. DNA HYPERMETHYLATION Michael J. Burke1* andTeena Bhatla2 Michael J. Burke andTeena Bhatla 1 Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA 2 Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA 1 Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA 1 Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA 2 Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA gy gy, g , , , 2 Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, N Aberrant epigenetic modiﬁcations are well-recognized drivers for oncogenesis. Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is no exception and serves as a model toward the sig- niﬁcant impact these heritable alterations can have in leukemogenesis. In this brief review, we will focus on the main aspects of epigenetics, which control leukemogenesis in pedi- atric ALL, mainly DNA methylation, histone modiﬁcation, and microRNA alterations. As we continue to gain better understanding of the driving mechanisms for pediatric ALL at both diagnosis and relapse, therapeutic interventions directed toward these pathways and mechanisms can be harnessed and introduced into clinical trials for pediatric ALL. PEDIATRICS REVIEW ARTICLE published: 14 May 2014 doi: 10.3389/fped.2014.00042 Epigenetic modiﬁcations in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia REVIEW ARTICLE published: 14 May 2014 doi: 10.3389/fped.2014.00042 PEDIATRICS Correspondence: Correspondence: Michael J. Burke, Medical College of Wisconsin, MACC Fund Research Center, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA e-mail: [email protected] Keywords: epigenetics, methylation, histone, pediatric, leukemia, ALL Keywords: epigenetics, methylation, histone, pediatric, leukemia, ALL Edited by: Alan Wayne, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USA Reviewed by: Patrick Brown, Johns Hopkins University, USA Weili Sun, University of Southern California, USA Reviewed by: Patrick Brown, Johns Hopkins University, USA Weili Sun, University of Southern California, USA Edited by: Edited by: Alan Wayne, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USA Edited by: Alan Wayne, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USA DNA HYPERMETHYLATION These mutations can result in a gain or loss of function of key genes known to regulate histone marks. Jaffe and colleagues, in pediatric ALL cell lines, have used global chromatin proﬁling, a tandem mass spectrometry strategy, to measure levels of histone modiﬁcations on bulk chromatin (29). In this work, a novel cluster of cell lines with a speciﬁc epigenetic signature was identiﬁed, charac- terized by increased dimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 (H3K36me2) and decreased unmodiﬁed H3K36. Approximately half of the cell lines in this cluster harbored the t(4;14) translo- cation, which is known to induce overexpression of NSD2 (24, 32, 33). NSD2 is a member of the HKMTs that catalyze the con- version of unmodiﬁed H3K36 to mono- and dimethylated forms (28). Upon targeted sequencing in an extensive patient sample set, NSD2 mutations were found to be enriched in ETV6-RUNX1 and TCF3-PBX1 sub-types of pediatric B-ALL, while no muta- tions were identiﬁed in 30 adult ALL samples. These were gain- of-function mutations and their overexpression led to a global increase in H3K36me2, with concomitant decrease in H3K27me3. Similar results were reported by others (34), showing these muta- tions affect expression of a number of genes involved in normal lymphoid development. py y Relapsed ALL is a highly aggressive disease marked predomi- nantly by drug resistance (20). Efforts are currently being under- taken to identify the role of epigenetic mechanisms in driving relapse and chemoresistance (3). Genome-wide DNA methyla- tion proﬁling performed on 33 matched relapse-diagnosis pairs demonstrated that the relapsed genome was distinctly more hyper- methylated compared to matched samples at diagnosis (3). In this study, 1147 CpG sites corresponding to 905 genes were differen- tially hypermethylated at relapse. About a third of these genes exhibited concordant down-regulation of mRNA expression. Many of the known regulators of the Wnt pathway were hyper- methylated and down regulated at relapse, including inhibitors of the β-catenin/TCF/LEF activity, as well as APC, WT1, cadherins (CDH1, CDH11), and SOX genes (SOX2, SOX8, SOX11, SOX21). Interestingly, PTPRO, a negative feedback inhibitor of the Wnt pathway that binds to Wnt and blocks its association with other receptors(21),wasalso hypermethylatedand downregulated. This suggests that the Wnt pathway is over-activated at relapse and that aberrant DNA methylation may play a signiﬁcant role in the acti- vation of this pathway in relapsed ALL (3). DNA HYPERMETHYLATION Gains of DNA methylation tend to occur in the gene promoter region and are one of the most studied epigenetic abnormalities May 2014 \| Volume 2 \| Article 42 \| 1 www.frontiersin.org Epigenetic modiﬁcations in ALL Burke and Bhatla environment inﬂuences the “on–off” transcriptional states of a gene depending on the post-translational modiﬁcations of the histone proteins (22). Numerous covalent histone tail modiﬁ- cations, the most prominent being methylation and acetylation, can directly affect gene transcription (23). These modiﬁcations are highly speciﬁc for the particular amino acid position on the N-terminal tails of the histones. For example, H3K4me3, H3K9 acetylation, H3K14 acetylation, and H3K79me2 are associated with open chromatin structures and linked with transcriptional activation, while H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 are associated with closed chromatin, and hence transcriptional repression. These histone marks are regulated by the balance between competing enzymes such as the histone lysine methyltransferases (HKMTs) and histone demethylases (HKDMs), and the histone acetyltrans- ferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) (24). Moreover, multiple histone modiﬁcations can be associated with critical reg- ulatory elements of transcription such as enhancers, which can determine cell fate and differentiation (23, 25). the transcriptional regulatory network such as NANOG, OCT4, SOX2, and REST. These genes are known to be regulated by a polycomb group of proteins and have been identiﬁed as targets for hypermethylation in solid tumors (13), leukemia (14), and lymphoma (15). MLL-rearranged infant leukemia is one speciﬁc ALL subtype that has been shown to exhibit distinct promoter hypermethyla- tion (16–19). Stumpel and colleagues identiﬁed a distinct DNA methylation pattern dependent on the presence and type of MLL-fusion partner in a cohort of 57 newly diagnosed infant ALL patients (19). In addition, the degree of hypermethylation appeared to correlate with a higher risk of relapse among infants carrying t(4;11) or t(11;19) translocations. In another study of 5 MLL-rearranged infant ALL samples, genes known to be involved inoncogenesisandtumorprogression(DAPK1,CCR6,HRK,LIFR, and FHIT) were differentially methylated suggesting a role in the leukemogenesis of MLL-rearranged ALL (17). As well, four of ﬁve genes that were hypermethylated and silenced were able to be re-expressed in vitro when exposed to DNMTi and regain their functional roles, thus pointing to the clinical potential epigenetic therapy may have in the treatment of infant leukemia. Mutations in epigenetic modifying genes are common in hema- tologic malignancies, including ALL (26–31). DNA HYPERMETHYLATION Re-expression of these hypermethylated and down regulated genes was observed when leukemia cell lines were treated with decitabine. As well, enhanced chemosensitivity was observed when ALL cell lines and primary patient ALL samples were pretreated with decitabine followed by conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy (4). Accumulating evidence suggests that histone modiﬁcation is an important aspect of MLL-fusion mediated transformation and leukemogenesis (35, 36). It has been shown that wild type MLL SETdomainisamethyltransferase,modifyinghistoneH3onlysine 4 (H3K4), and positively regulating gene expression of multiple Hox genes (37). In addition,MLL mediated transcriptional regula- tion involves recruitment of HAT,such as CBP (38) and MOF (39). Furthermore,DOT1L,a histone methyltransferase that methylates lysine 79 on histone H3 (H3K79), has been associated with mul- tiple MLL-fusion partners such as AF9, AF10, AF17, and ENL (40–42), and has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target (36). Several groups have used small molecule inhibitors to demonstrate the feasibility of pharmacological inhibition of DOT1L enzymatic activity in preclinical models of MLL-rearranged leukemia (43– 45) and are now under clinical investigation in a phase I study for adults with advanced hematologic malignancies, including acute In summary, DNA hypermethylation appears to play a signiﬁ- cant role in the leukemogenesis of ALL and may be an important contributor toward relapse. As more studies interrogate the spe- ciﬁc genes and or pathways inﬂuenced by hypermethylation in pediatricALL,wewillgainfurtherinsighttowardstrategiestother- apeutically target these aberrant epigenetic changes and hopefully begin to make a greater impact in the treatment of this disease. MicroRNA ALTERATIONS MicroRNAs are a class of small endogenous single stranded non-coding ribonucleic acids (RNA) composed of roughly 22 nucleotides that are primarily involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. miRNAs play a critical regulatory role in target- ing mRNAs for cleavage or translational repression, with greater than 1,000 miRNAs currently identiﬁed in the human genome (56). MicroRNA genes are preferentially localized to CpG islands, which leads to the plausible mechanism that they can be controlled through aberrant epigenetic regulation (e.g., hypermethylation, histone modiﬁcation) (57). Altered expression of miRNAs has been implicated in leukemo- genesis and appears to have the ability to inﬂuence critical growth regulatory pathways in ALL (58–61). An example of the func- tional impact miRNA can have in B-cell ALL was reported with the restoration of miR-196b expression, which led to signiﬁcant down-regulation of c-myc and its effector genes fhTERT,Bcl-2,and AATF, suggesting a tumor suppressor function role for miR-196b (62). Some speciﬁc miRNAs that have been implicated in pediatric ALL include miRNA (miR) miR-34, miR-128, miR-142, and miR- 181, all reported to be over expressed (58, 63, 64) and miR-100 and miR-196b, both under expressed (59, 63). Schotte and col- leagues investigated 397 miRNAs using qRT-PCR in 81 pediatric ALL cases in comparison to 17 normal CD34+ stem cell con- trols (65). Unique miRNA signatures were identiﬁed for various ALL sub-types including ETV6-RUNX1, MLL-rearranged, T-ALL, hyperdiploidy,and E2A-PBX1. Overall,expression of miR-143 and miR-140 were found to be 70- and 140-fold lower in the B-ALL samples compared to controls (pFDR = 0.0007 and pFDR = 0.001, respectively). Hyperdiploid samples showed a clustering of high expression of miR-98, miR-222, miR-223, and miR-511 and the ETV6-RUNX1 cases had a 5- to 1700-fold increase expression in miR-99a, miR-100, miR-125b, and miR-383 compared to controls (pFDR < 0.001). Together these ﬁndings lend support for epige- netic alterations involving miRNAs in the leukemogenesis of some of the more common variants of pediatric ALL. Epigenetic alterations are not only restricted to B-ALL,but are a notable feature of T-ALL, particularly the aggressive subtype early T-cell precursor (ETP)ALL.Whole genome sequencing of 12 cases of ETP ALL identiﬁed mutations in genes encoding components of the polycomb repressor complex 2 (PRC2), including deletions and sequence mutations of EZH2, SUZ12, and EED (47). Loss of function mutations and deletions of EZH2 and SUZ12 genes have also been found in T-ALL,where authors implicate the tumor suppressor role of the PRC2 complex (48). HISTONE MODIFICATIONS HISTONE MODIFICATIONS Histones are small basic proteins involved in the spatial organization of DNA within the nucleus. The chromatin May 2014 \| Volume 2 \| Article 42 \| 2 Frontiers in Pediatrics \| Pediatric Oncology Epigenetic modiﬁcations in ALL Burke and Bhatla leukemia with rearrangement of the MLL gene (NCT01684150). One inhibitor in particular, EPZ-5676, has shown potent activity in its ability to selectively inhibit the DOT1L histone methyltrans- ferase, resulting in cell death of acute leukemia cell lines har- boring MLL translocations as well as complete tumor regression in a rat xenograft model of MLL-rearranged leukemia following continuous iv infusion of EPZ-5676 (45). at relapse. Bachmann and colleagues have reported glucocorti- coid resistance associated with epigenetic silencing of the BIM gene in pediatric ALL and showed synergistic effect of vorinos- tat with dexamethasone in both in vitro and in vivo models (54). The potential importance of these changes is highlighted by the promising activity of several other drugs from the same class that target epigenetic alterations (55). In order to identify novel mutations in relapsedALL,Mullighan and colleagues performed targeted resequencing of 300 genes in 23 matched relapse-diagnosis B-ALL pairs (30). The authors identiﬁed novel mutations in CREBBP, a gene encoding the tran- scriptional coactivator CREB binding protein with HAT activity. The overall frequencies of these sequence and/or deletional muta- tions were 18.3% in relapse cases (30). However, particularly high incidences of somatic CREBBP alterations (63%) were found in the high hyperdiploidy relapse cases. Of note, the majority of these mutations occurred in the HAT domain (27). Although less common, mutations in other important epigenetic regula- tors were also seen such as NCoR1 (Nuclear corepressor complex), EP300 (a paralog of CREBBP), EZH2 (histone methyltransferase gene),andCTCF (zincﬁngerproteininvolvedinhistonemodiﬁca- tions) (30). Additionally, transcriptome sequencing has identiﬁed relapse-speciﬁc mutations in CBX3 (encoding heterochromatin protein), PRMT2 (gene encoding protein arginine methyltrans- ferase 2), and MIER3 (involved in chromatin binding); providing further evidence of aberrant epigenetic mechanisms that play a role at relapse (46). In summary, similar to the inﬂuence DNA hypermethylation has in pediatric ALL leukemogenesis, maintenance, and relapse, aberrant epigenetic changes involving histones have been associ- ated with disease progression and relapse in ALL. With growing experience using HDACi in hematologic malignancies, includ- ing pediatric trials (NCT01483690, NCT01321346), the impact of these agents will become clearer as well as their role in future relapse and upfront ALL studies. MicroRNA ALTERATIONS MicroRNA ALTERATIONS No maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was identiﬁed and 5/15 patients reported grade 3/4 cytopenias (anemia, throm- bocytopenia, and leukopenia) that were possibly related to the study drug. Similar to the DNMTi, HDACi (e.g., vorinostat, panobinostat) have been studied in the treatment of acute leukemia, primarily as single agents and almost exclusively in adults (74, 75). The COG completed a phase I study investigating vorinostat in combination with 13 cis-retinoic acid in children with refractory/recurrent solid tumors and vorinostat alone for patients with refractory leukemia (76). Six patients with refractory leukemia were enrolled with 2 DLTs reported at the solid tumor MTD (230 mg/m2/day) includ- ing an elevated AST (n = 1), hyperbilirubinemia (n = 1), elevated GGT (n = 1), and hypokalemia (n = 1). As the solid tumor MTD for vorinostat did not appear tolerable for patients with hemato- logic malignancies, there was no further dose ﬁnding attempt in this study. Currently, there is a phase I study of panobinostat in children with refractory hematologic malignancies open through the therapeutic advances in childhood leukemia and lymphoma (TACL) Consortium (NCT01321346). g g In a report of 18 matched-pair diagnosis and relapse (n = 8) or diagnosis and remission (n = 10) pediatric ALL samples, data was summarized for the most differentially expressed miRNAs (66). Down-regulation of miR-23a and miR-223 was observed at time of relapse compared to remission whereas miR130b, -181, and -708 were over expressed at relapse. Speciﬁcally, the expression of miR-708 was greater in relapse samples and lower in remis- sion samples when compared to diagnosis whereas miR-223 was up-regulated in remission samples compared to diagnosis and conﬁrmed with qRT-PCR. These two miRNAs at diagnosis along with miR-27a were shown to correlate signiﬁcantly with 3-year relapse-free survival (p = 0.0483, 0.0079, and 0.0024, respectively) and thus could potentially be used as prognostic biomarkers for newly diagnosed patients. The functional impact these miRNAs hadongeneexpressionwasdescribedaswellwithtargetsidentiﬁed for BMI1, transcription factor necessary for hematopoietic stem cell and leukemia stem cell self-renewal,in miR-27a and miR-128b as well as E2F1, master cell cycle regulator, a target of miR-223. The variations in miRNA expression that exist between diagnostic, remission, and relapse samples identiﬁed by Han and colleagues suggest that critical epigenetic mechanisms exist through these non-coding miRNAs that may assist in driving leukemogenesis and disease recurrence. MicroRNA ALTERATIONS The ﬁrst study incorporating a DNMTi and HDACi followed by chemotherapy for children and adults with relapsed/refractory ALL was recently completed (72). In this phase II trial, decitabine (15 mg/m2/day) and vorinostat (230 mg/m2 divided BID) were given over four consecutive days prior to re-induction chemother- apy (vincristine, prednisone, PEG-asparaginase, doxorubicin) (NCT00882206) (72). Thirteen eligible patients enrolled with a median age of 16 (range, 3–54) years. There was a single toxic death occurring on study attributed to the chemotherapy regi- men, which included a grade ﬁve hemorrhage/bleeding (n = 1). A second patient experiencing grade ﬁve hypoxia/acute respira- tory distress died on day 4 of study attributed to disease pro- gression (n = 1). There were an additional 14 grade 3/4 serious adverse events,which were at least possibly attributed to decitabine or vorinostat, the most common being fever with neutropenia (n = 2) and infection (blood) with neutropenia (n = 5). Results of the eight patients evaluable for response, identiﬁed a CR rate of 50% (n = 4/8) (95% CI 15.7–84.3%) and an overall response rate (CR + PR) of 75% (n = 6/8) (95% CI 34.9–96.8%). As well, minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity by ﬂow cytometry was observed in 4/8 patients (50%, CI: 15.7–84.3%). Five of the eight patients who completed the study proceeded to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (four in second CR and one in third CR). Three patients succumbed to transplant related deaths without evidence of leukemia while the remaining two patients remain alive with no evidence of disease. Based on the results of this study, a pediatric trial for relapse/refractory ALL combin- ing decitabine and vorinostat with re-induction chemotherapy is currently open through the TACL Consortium (NCT01483690; R21CA161688-01). In an analysis of 353 diagnostic bone marrow samples from patients withALL (<15 years of age,n = 179),65% had at least one of 13 previously identiﬁed miRNAs hypermethylated (67). These 13 miRNAs were found to be regulated by methylation and histone modiﬁcation and associated with a closed chromatin conforma- tion of 11 CpG islands close to where the 13 miRNAs resided. The hypermethylation was associated with miRNA under expression but could be reversed with decitabine. In summary, aberrant miRNA expression, particularly sec- ondary to methylation, is a common ﬁnding in ALL. These data support that epigenetic modiﬁcations of speciﬁc miRNAs are asso- ciated with chemotherapy resistance and clinical outcomes. MicroRNA ALTERATIONS In addition to the discovery of somatic mutations in epige- netic machinery in ALL, mRNA expression of HDACs has been shown to be dysregulated. Higher mRNA expression of HDAC7 and HDAC9 in a study of 94 childhood ALL cases was shown to correlate with poor prognosis (49). Similarly, another group identiﬁed the correlation of HDAC4 overexpression with pred- nisone poor response, T-ALL phenotype, and a high initial WBC (50). Given the compelling evidence of HDAC’s involvement in tumor development and progression, inhibitors of HDACs have emerged as an attractive therapeutic option in hematologic malig- nancies (4,51). Through a connectivity map search (52) for agents, which could potentially reverse the characteristic gene expression signature speciﬁc for relapse ALL (3, 53) and potentially endow chemosensitivity, vorinostat (HDACi) was identiﬁed as the most promising candidate (4). In fact, vorinostat not only modulated the gene expression signature characteristic of relapse in ALL cell lines and patient samples, but showed a synergistic effect when given sequentially with chemotherapy (4). The fact that vorino- stat showed signiﬁcant alteration of gene expression correlating with histone modiﬁcations, indicates that the perturbation of histone marks may have a key role in aberrant gene regulation Aberrant miRNA expression has been implicated in leukemia drug resistance and lower event-free survival (EFS). Schotte and colleagues identiﬁed a lower expression of miR-454 (1.9- fold lower) in leukemia blasts with l-asparaginase resistance (pFDR = 0.017) and patient samples resistant to vincristine and May 2014 \| Volume 2 \| Article 42 \| 3 www.frontiersin.org www.frontiersin.org Epigenetic modiﬁcations in ALL Burke and Bhatla daunorubicin were found to have over expression of miR- 99a, miR-100, and miR-125b (14- to 25-fold) (pFDR ≤0.002 and pFDR < 0.05, respectively) (65). In terms of EFS, six miR- NAs (miR-33, -215, -369-5p, -496, -518d, and -599) were asso- ciated with worse survival (HR 1.3–1.52, 95% CI 1.01–2.04; 0.003 ≤p ≤0.046) and another eight (miR-10a, -134, -214, -484, -572, -580, -624, and -627) with greater EFS (HR 0.59–0.82, 95% CI 0.41–0.99, 0.004 ≤p ≤0.045) (65). The authors concluded that the miRNAs associated with a more favorable outcome likely had tumor suppressor activity through their signaling of apoptosis (miR-10a), inhibition of proliferation (miR-10a and miR-214), and oncogene SOX2 down-regulation (miR-134). investigating decitabine (10 mg/m2/day × 5 days/week × 2 weeks) in children with relapsed/refractory acute leukemia that closed prematurely due to low patient accrual (NCT00042796, unpub- lished). MicroRNA ALTERATIONS As these modiﬁcations can be secondary to DNA hypermethylation (65, 68–71), exposure to agents such as DNMTi could reverse the aberrant expression, normalize miRNA levels, and ultimately lead to improved clinical outcomes. REFERENCES 1. Garcia-Manero G, Yang H, Kuang SQ, O’Brien S, Thomas D, Kantarjian H. Epigenetics of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Semin Hematol (2009) 46:24–32. doi:10.1053/j.seminhematol.2008.09.008 1. Garcia-Manero G, Yang H, Kuang SQ, O’Brien S, Thomas D, Kantarjian H. Epigenetics of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Semin Hematol (2009) 46:24–32. doi:10.1053/j.seminhematol.2008.09.008 22. Jenuwein T, Allis CD. Translating the histone code. Science (2001) 293:1074–80. doi:10.1126/science.1063127 2. Sandoval J, Esteller M. Cancer epigenomics: beyond genomics. Curr Opin Genet Dev (2012) 22:50–5. doi:10.1016/j.gde.2012.02.008 23. Wang Z, Zang C, Rosenfeld JA, Schones DE, Barski A, Cuddapah S, et al. Combi- natorialpatterns of histone acetylationsand methylationsin thehumangenome. Nat Genet (2008) 40:897–903. doi:10.1038/ng.154 3. Hogan LE, Meyer JA,Yang J, Wang J, Wong N,Yang W, et al. Integrated genomic analysis of relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia reveals therapeutic strategies. Blood (2011) 118:5218–26. doi:10.1182/blood-2011-04-345595 24. Rea S, Eisenhaber F, O’Carroll D, Strahl BD, Sun ZW, Schmid M, et al. Reg- ulation of chromatin structure by site-speciﬁc histone H3 methyltransferases. Nature (2000) 406:593–9. doi:10.1038/35020506 4. Bhatla T, Wang J, Morrison DJ, Raetz EA, Burke MJ, Brown P, et al. Epige- netic reprogramming reverses the relapse-speciﬁc gene expression signature and restores chemosensitivity in childhood B-lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood (2012) 119:5201–10. doi:10.1182/blood-2012-01-401687 25. Rada-Iglesias A, Bajpai R, Swigut T, Brugmann SA, Flynn RA, Wysocka J. A unique chromatin signature uncovers early developmental enhancers in humans. Nature (2011) 470:279–83. doi:10.1038/nature09692 5. Garcia-Manero G, Bueso-Ramos C, Daniel J, Williamson J, Kantarjian HM, Issa JP. DNA methylation patterns at relapse in adult acute lymphocytic leukemia. Clin Cancer Res (2002) 8:1897–903. 26. Papaemmanuil E,Gerstung M,Malcovati L,Tauro S,Gundem G,Van Loo P,et al. Myeloid disorders working group of the International Cancer Genome, clinical and biological implications of driver mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes. Blood (2013) 122:3616–27. doi:10.1182/blood-2013-08-518886 6. Gaynon PS. Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and relapse. Br J Haema- tol (2005) 131:579–87. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2141.2005.05773.x 27. Inthal A, Zeitlhofer P, Zeginigg M, Morak M, Grausenburger R, Fronkova E, et al. mutations prevail in relapse cases of high hyperdiploid childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia (2012) 26:1797–803. doi:10.1038/leu. 2012.60 7. Baylin SB, Herman JG. DNA hypermethylation in tumorigenesis: epigenet- ics joins genetics. Trends Genet (2000) 16:168–74. doi:10.1016/S0168-9525(99) 01971-X 8. Costello JF, Plass C. Methylation matters. J Med Genet (2001) 38:285–303. doi:10.1136/jmg.38.5.285 28. KuoAJ,Cheung P,Chen K,Zee BM,Kioi M,Lauring J,et al. NSD2 links dimethy- lation of histone H3 at lysine 36 to oncogenic programming. Mol Cell (2011) 44:609–20. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2011.08.042 9. CLINICAL TRIALS INVESTIGATING EPIGENETIC MODIFYING THERAPIES IN PEDIATRIC ALL SUMMARY The majority of clinical experience using epigenetic modifying agents in the treatment of acute leukemia has been in adults (72, 73).TheChildren’sOncologyGroup(COG)pilotedaphaseIstudy Underlying epigenetic alterations in pediatric ALL are com- mon events, which appear to be more common at relapse than May 2014 \| Volume 2 \| Article 42 \| 4 Frontiers in Pediatrics \| Pediatric Oncology Epigenetic modiﬁcations in ALL Burke and Bhatla diagnosis. Thus children with relapse ALL may be an ideal popu- lation for clinical trials incorporating epigenetic modifying agents aimed at reversing these aberrant signatures. Whether such trials will lead to improved clinical outcomes has yet to be determined but early ﬁndings in studies incorporating these agents have been encouraging. new insights into the mechanisms underlying silencing of B cell-speciﬁc genes. Leukemia (2012) 26:185–8. doi:10.1038/leu.2011.194 new insights into the mechanisms underlying silencing of B cell-speciﬁc genes. Leukemia (2012) 26:185–8. doi:10.1038/leu.2011.194 16. Stumpel DJ, Schotte D, Lange-Turenhout EA, Schneider P, Seslija L, de Menezes RX, et al. Hypermethylation of speciﬁc microRNA genes in MLL-rearranged infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia: major matters at a micro scale. Leukemia (2011) 25:429–39. doi:10.1038/leu.2010.282 17. Schafer E, Irizarry R, Negi S, McIntyre E, Small D, Figueroa ME, et al. Promoter hypermethylation in MLL-r infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia: biology and therapeutic targeting. Blood (2010) 115:4798–809. doi:10.1182/blood-2009-09- 243634 g g In conclusion,leukemogenesis of pediatric ALL is heavily inﬂu- enced by epigenetics, particularly DNA hypermethylation, histone modiﬁcation, and alterations in miRNA expression. Epigenetic modifying agents such as DNMTi and HDACi as well as newer therapies(e.g.,histonemethyltransferaseinhibitors)arenowbeing incorporated into early phase clinical trials for relapse leukemia. As more trials for children with relapse ALL, incorporating epige- netic therapies into standard and/or novel salvage regimens, are developed and completed, we will have a better understanding as to which patients might beneﬁt the most using this approach and ultimately where these agents may be best served in treating pediatric ALL. 18. Nishi M, Eguchi-Ishimae M, Wu Z, Gao W, Iwabuki H, Kawakami S, et al. Sup- pression of the let-7b microRNA pathway by DNA hypermethylation in infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia with MLL gene rearrangements. Leukemia (2013) 27:389–97. doi:10.1038/leu.2012.242 19. Stumpel DJ, Schneider P, van Roon EH, Boer JM, de Lorenzo P, Valsecchi MG, et al. 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Blood (2010) 116:3013–22. doi:10.1182/blood-2010-05-284968 lymphoblastic leukemia, and its reversal by histone deacetylase inhibition. Blood (2010) 116:3013–22. doi:10.1182/blood-2010-05-284968 35. Krivtsov AV, Feng Z, Lemieux ME, Faber J, Vempati S, Sinha AU, et al. H3K79 methylation proﬁles deﬁne murine and human MLL-AF4 leukemias. Cancer Cell (2008) 14:355–68. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2008.10.001 55. Jones PA, Baylin SB. The epigenomics of cancer. Cell (2007) 128:683–92. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2007.01.029 36. Bernt KM, Armstrong SA. Targeting epigenetic programs in MLL-rearranged leukemias. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program (2011) 2011:354–60. doi:10.1182/asheducation-2011.1.354 56. de Oliveira JC, Brassesco MS, Scrideli CA, Tone LG, Narendran A. MicroRNA expression and activity in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Pediatr Blood Cancer (2012) 59:599–604. doi:10.1002/pbc.24167 37. 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Fouladi M, Park JR, Stewart CF, Gilbertson RJ, Schaiquevich P, Sun J, et al. Pediatric phase I trial and pharmacokinetic study of vorinostat: a Children’s Oncology Group phase I consortium report. J Clin Oncol (2010) 28:3623–9. doi:10.1200/JCO.2009.25.9119 REFERENCES A phase II trial of decitabine and vorinostat in combination with chemother- apy for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. ASH Annual Meeting Abstracts (2012) 120:4307. 54. Bachmann PS, Piazza RG, Janes ME, Wong NC, Davies C, Mogavero A, et al. Epigenetic silencing of BIM in glucocorticoid poor-responsive pediatric acute 73. Garcia-Manero G, Thomas D, Rytting M, Zweidler-McKay P, Estrov Z, Brown DL, et al. Phase I study of 5-aza-2’-deoxycitidine, alone or in combination with May 2014 \| Volume 2 \| Article 42 \| 6 Frontiers in Pediatrics \| Pediatric Oncology Burke and Bhatla Epigenetic modiﬁcations in ALL hyper-CVAD, in relapsed or refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). ASH Annual Meeting Abstracts (2007) 110:2826. Conﬂict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or ﬁnancial relationships that could be construed as a potential conﬂict of interest. 74. Giles F, Fischer T, Cortes J, Garcia-Manero G, Beck J, Ravandi F, et al. A phase I study of intravenous LBH589, a novel cinnamic hydroxamic acid analogue his- tone deacetylase inhibitor,in patients with refractory hematologic malignancies. Clin Cancer Res (2006) 12:4628–35. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-06-0511 Received: 30 January 2014; accepted: 29 April 2014; published online: 14 May 2014. Citation: Burke MJ and Bhatla T (2014) Epigenetic modiﬁcations in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Front. Pediatr. 2:42. doi: 10.3389/fped.2014.00042 This article was submitted to Pediatric Oncology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics. 75. Garcia-Manero G, Yang H, Bueso-Ramos C, Ferrajoli A, Cortes J, Wierda WG, et al. 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https://openalex.org/W4281790056	https://www.ijlet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/50-72-from-2022-1-Final-version-430.pdf	English	null	EFFECTIVE ANTI-PIRACY IN VIETNAM: A JOURNEY THROUGH SITE BLOCKING	The international journal of law, ethics and technology	2,022	cc-by	18,219	50 50 University of California, Los Angeles & Loyola Law School. EFFECTIVE ANTI-PIRACY IN VIETNAM: A JOURNEY THROUGH SITE BLOCKING  Jonathan Lee Xue Han Abstract: The dawn of the Internet has created significant challenges to protecting copyrighted materials from piracy. In the past, copyright protection was mainly concerned with the threat of infringement from the sale of counterfeit goods, like pirated CDs and optical media. However, the Internet has now allowed for online piracy where infringing materials can be accessed online or copied with even greater ease. Vietnam has recently become a jurisdiction that is a hotbed for online piracy and copyright infringement globally. This is largely because Vietnam's current statutory and regulatory regime fail to effectively create an effective anti- piracy regime in accordance with its WTO TRIPS obligations. Furthermore, Vietnam's recent accession of various treaties like the CPTPP and WCT further galvanizes a need for change in Vietnam's intellectual property regime. Thus far, Vietnam's attempts at fashioning an effective site-blocking regime have not succeeded. This paper will look at other effective site-blocking regimes, namely Singapore, India, and France, to look prospectively at what may be possible in Vietnam. Keywords: Vietnam, Copyright, TRIPS, CPTPP, Site-blocking 51 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 52 I. Site Blocking: an Overview.......................................................................................... 54 II. A Statutory Framework: Site Blocking in Singapore ............................................... 56 A. Overview of Statutory Site Blocking in Singapore ............................................. 56 B. Disney Enterprises, Inc V M1 Ltd: Statutory Site Blocking in Practice and Dynamic Injunctions ...................................................................................................... 58 III. Coming to the Same Conclusion: Common Law Site Blocking in India ................. 59 A. Overview of Site Blocking in India ...................................................................... 60 B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... V 1337x: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions .............................................................................................. 61 IV. A Civil Law Approach: Site Blocking in France ....................................................... 64 V. Clearing the Fog: the Need for Effective Site Blocking in Vietnam ........................ 66 A. Copyright Protection in Vietnam: a Lack of Clarity and Efficacy ................... 66 1. Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property ............................................................. 67 2. Circular 07 .......................................................................................................... 67 3. Structural Problems ............................................................................................. 68 B. Site Blocking in Vietnam: Possible Approaches ................................................. 69 1. A Statutory Approach ......................................................................................... 69 2. Administrative Approach .................................................................................... 70 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 71 Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 52 1 Advisory Committee on Enforcement, Study on IP Enforcement Measures, Especially Anti-piracy Measures in the Digital Environment, WIPO, July 23, 2019. 2 Id. at 1. 6 Nigel Cory, The Normalization of Website Blocking Around the World in the Fight Against Piracy Online, June 12, 2018, https://itif.org/publications/2018/06/12/normalization-website-blocking-around- world-fight-against-piracy-online/. Id. at 1. 4 Justin Hughes, Copyright Law in Foreign Jurisdictions: How are other countries handling digital piracy Hearing Before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, 10 March 2020. 5 d 4 5 Id. at 4. 7 New survey shows Vietnam among highest in online piracy in Southeast Asia., AVIA, May 17, 2021, https://avia.org/new-survey-shows-vietnam-among-highest-in-online-piracy-in-southeast-asia/. 9 USTR, 2021 Special 301 Report, USTR, 84; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106; See also USTR, USTR Releases Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, 29 April 2020, https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2020/april/ustr- releases-annual-special-301-report-intellectual-property-protection-and-review-notorious (“The Special 301 Report identifies trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access to U.S. innovators and creators that rely on protection of their IP rights… These trading partners will be the subject of increased bilateral engagement with USTR to address IP concerns. Over the coming weeks, USTR will review the developments against the benchmarks established in the Special 301 action plans for those countries. For countries failing to address U.S. concerns, USTR will take appropriate actions, which may include enforcement actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act or pursuant to World Trade Organization (WTO) or other trade agreement dispute settlement procedures.) 7 New survey shows Vietnam among highest in online piracy in Southeast Asia., AVIA, May 17, 2021, https://avia.org/new-survey-shows-vietnam-among-highest-in-online-piracy-in-southeast-asia/. 8 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, IIPA,106 (January 28, 2021). INTRODUCTION The dawn of the internet has created significant challenges to the protection of copyrighted materials from piracy. 1 In the past, copyright protection was mostly concerned with the threat of infringement from the sale of counterfeit goods, like pirated CDs and optical media.2 However, the internet has now allowed for a form of online piracy where infringing materials can be accessed online or copied with an easy click of a button or tap of a screen.3 One of the most promising attempts at addressing online piracy is the practice of site blocking.4 While not always the case, numerous nations have outlined a framework for site blocking as a part of safe harbor provisions.5 Broadly, these safe harbor provisions broker a compromise between internet service providers (ISPs) and rights holders, by indemnifying ISPs in exchange for allowing rights-holders to get ISPs to block domestic access to sites that are known to host or distribute large amounts of pirated material.6 While effective, many of these measures have still have not reached many jurisdictions in Asia which have growing numbers of their population joining the internet. There is no place where this is truer than Vietnam. Vietnam has one of the fastest growing online piracy cultures in Asia and already has many online users that openly admit to frequently using infringing sites.7 Moreover, it seems that the combination of unclear laws, poor enforcement mechanisms, and restricted market access has resulted in a weak copyright regime that is susceptible to rampant online infringement.8 The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), recognizing the threat that Vietnam poses to intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement among U.S. trading partners, elevated Vietnam to the watch list. 9 1 Advisory Committee on Enforcement, Study on IP Enforcement Measures, Especially Anti-piracy Measures in the Digital Environment, WIPO, July 23, 2019. 2 Id. at 1. 4 Justin Hughes, Copyright Law in Foreign Jurisdictions: How are other countries handling digital piracy? Hearing Before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, 10 March 2020. 5 Id t 4 6 Nigel Cory, The Normalization of Website Blocking Around the World in the Fight Against Piracy Online, June 12, 2018, https://itif.org/publications/2018/06/12/normalization-website-blocking-around- world-fight-against-piracy-online/. 1 Advisory Committee on Enforcement, Study on IP Enforcement Measures, Especially Anti-piracy Measures in the Digital Environment, WIPO, July 23, 2019. 2 Id. at 1. 3 Id. at 1. 4 Justin Hughes, Copyright Law in Foreign Jurisdictions: How are other countries handling digital piracy? Hearing Before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, 10 March 2020. 5 Id. at 4. 6 Nigel Cory, The Normalization of Website Blocking Around the World in the Fight Against Piracy Online, June 12, 2018, https://itif.org/publications/2018/06/12/normalization-website-blocking-around- world-fight-against-piracy-online/. 7 New survey shows Vietnam among highest in online piracy in Southeast Asia., AVIA, May 17, 2021, https://avia.org/new-survey-shows-vietnam-among-highest-in-online-piracy-in-southeast-asia/. 8 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, IIPA,106 (January 28, 2021). 9 USTR, 2021 Special 301 Report, USTR, 84; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106; See also USTR, USTR Releases Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, 29 April 2020, https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2020/april/ustr- releases-annual-special-301-report-intellectual-property-protection-and-review-notorious (“The Special 301 Report identifies trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access to U.S. innovators and creators that rely on protection of their IP rights… These trading partners will be the subject of increased bilateral engagement with USTR to address IP concerns. Over the coming weeks, USTR will review the developments against the benchmarks established in the Special 301 action plans for those countries. For countries failing to address U.S. concerns, USTR will take appropriate actions, which may include enforcement actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act or pursuant to World Trade Organization (WTO) or other trade agreement dispute settlement procedures.) https://avia.org/new-survey-shows-vietnam-among-highest-in-online-piracy-in-southeast-asia/. 8 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, IIPA,106 (January 28, 2021). 8 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, IIPA,106 (January 28, 2021). 3 Id. at 1. 10 World Trade Organization, Members and Observers, https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm/. 11 World Trade Organization, Frequently asked questions about TRIPS [trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights] in the WTO, https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/tripfq_e.htm#Who'sSigned/. 12 TRIPS Agreement, Part III, Section 5, Article 61, https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/31bis_trips_05_e.htm#5/. 13 TRIPS Agreement, Part III, Section 1, Article 41, https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/31bis_trips_05_e.htm#1/. 14 WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 15 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, IIPA,110, 112 (January 28, 2021). 16 Government of New Zealand, Viet Nam seventh nation to ratify CPTPP, 15 November 2018, https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/viet-nam-seventh-nation-ratify-cptpp/. 17 Vietnam becomes signatory to WIPO Copyright Treaty, People’s Army Newspaper, 25 November 2021, https://en.qdnd.vn/foreign-affairs/bilateral-relations/vietnam-becomes-signatory-to-wipo-copyright- treaty-536158/; See also WIPO Lex, Contracting Parties > WIPO Copyright Treaty, https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/treaties/ShowResults?search_what=C&treaty_id=16/. 18 See CPTPP, Chapter 18, Article 18.74, page 44-47, https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade- agreements/TPP/Text-ENGLISH/18.-Intellectual-Property-Chapter.pdf/; WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 19 Nigel Cory, supra note 6; See Australia, Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act 2015, Section 115A; United Kingdom, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Section 97A; EU 2001 Information Society Directive, Article 8(3); Singapore, Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws), Article 193DDA(1)(b) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Hugh Stephens, Disabling Access to Large- Scale Pirate Sites (Site Blocking)—It Works!, Hugh Stephens Blog, 18 April 2017, https://hughstephensblog.net/2017/04/18/disabling-access-to-large-scale-pirate-sites-site-blocking-it- works/; INTRODUCTION 9 USTR, 2021 Special 301 Report, USTR, 84; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106; See also USTR, USTR Releases Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, 29 April 2020, https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2020/april/ustr- releases-annual-special-301-report-intellectual-property-protection-and-review-notorious (“The Special 301 Report identifies trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access to U.S. innovators and creators that rely on protection of their IP rights… These trading partners will be the subject of increased bilateral engagement with USTR to address IP concerns. Over the coming weeks, USTR will review the developments against the benchmarks established in the Special 301 action plans for those countries. For countries failing to address U.S. concerns, USTR will take appropriate actions, which may include enforcement actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act or pursuant to World Trade Organization (WTO) or other trade agreement dispute settlement procedures.) Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 53 Moreover, Vietnam is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) 10 and a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).11 The TRIPS agreement requires Vietnam to “criminalize copyright piracy on a commercial scale” 12 and “make available to right holders civil judicial procedures concerning the enforcement of any intellectual property right”.13 This means that Vietnam is legally obligated to ensure that there are available enforcement procedures for effective action against all forms of copyright infringement covered in the treaty14, including the kind of piracy happening online in Vietnam daily. However, it seems like Vietnam has yet to do so.15 Further, Vietnam’s recent accession of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) 16 and the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WCT) 17 further galvanize and impose obligations for effective copyright enforcement on Vietnam.18 Hence, the topic of effective Vietnamese measures against online piracy is becoming increasingly relevant. The international experience has shown that many nations with a variety of legal traditions have managed to create effective copyright regimes that have aspects of site blocking.19 g https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm/. p g g g 11 World Trade Organization, Frequently asked questions about TRIPS [trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights] in the WTO, p p y g https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/tripfq_e.htm#Who'sSigned/. ttps://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/31bis_trips_05_e.htm#5 g https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/31bis_trips_05_e.htm#1/. World Trade Organization, Members and Observers 20 Indian courts have been ordering ISPs to block pirate websites to protect new releases of Indian films for many years. See Delhi HC restrains 30 torrent sites from hosting copyrighted content, orders ISPs to block them, FINANCIAL EXPRESS, April 11, 2019, https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/delhi- hc-restrains-30-torrent-sites-from-hosting-copyrighted-content-orders-isps-to-block-them/1545480/; Bill Toulas, ISPs in India Ordered to Block Pirate Bay, Torrentz2, YTS, and 1337x, TECHNADU, April 12, 2019, https://www.technadu.com/isps-india-ordered-block-pirate-bay-torrentz2-yts-1337x/64592/; Javed Anwer, 830 more websites blocked in India, many torrent links in list, INDIA TODAY, August 25, 2016 (“Blocking of hundreds of URLs at the behest of film producers is not new in India. It has become almost routine to for film producers to approach court before release of a film and take John Doe orders, leading to the blocking of the websites. Not only torrent sites have been blocked under such orders but also image hosts, file hosts and websites that share URLs”), https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/830- more-websites-blocked-in-india-many-torrent-links-in-list-337177-2016-08-25; Anupam Saxena, ISP Wise List Of Blocked Sites #IndiaBlocks, MEDIANAMA, May 17, 2012, INTRODUCTION 14 WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 15 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, IIPA,110, 112 (January 28, 2021). , , ( y , ) 16 Government of New Zealand, Viet Nam seventh nation to ratify CPTPP, 15 November 2018, 16 Government of New Zealand, Viet Nam seventh nation to ratify CPTPP, 1 https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/viet-nam-seventh-nation-ratify-cptpp/. , y , https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/viet-nam-seventh-nation-ratify-cptpp/. p g y p pp Vietnam becomes signatory to WIPO Copyright Treaty, People’s Army Newspaper, 25 November 21, https://en.qdnd.vn/foreign-affairs/bilateral-relations/vietnam-becomes-signatory-to-wipo-copyright- aty-536158/; See also WIPO Lex, Contracting Parties > WIPO Copyright Treaty, p p p _ y_ 18 See CPTPP, Chapter 18, Article 18.74, page 44-47, https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade- agreements/TPP/Text-ENGLISH/18.-Intellectual-Property-Chapter.pdf/; WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 19 Nigel Cory, supra note 6; See Australia, Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act 2015, Section 115A; United Kingdom, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Section 97A; EU 2001 Information Society Directive, Article 8(3); Singapore, Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws), Article 193DDA(1)(b) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Hugh Stephens, Disabling Access to Large- Scale Pirate Sites (Site Blocking)—It Works!, Hugh Stephens Blog, 18 April 2017, https://hughstephensblog.net/2017/04/18/disabling-access-to-large-scale-pirate-sites-site-blocking-it- works/; Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 54 Furthermore, the case of India20 and Singapore21, show that even in Asia site blocking is a viable and effective means of containing online piracy. Thus, this paper through the study and analysis of site blocking regimes in Singapore, India, and France shall show that a clear and effective Vietnamese site blocking regime which solves online piracy and fulfils treaty obligations, is possible. Part II of this paper describes the practice of site blocking generally. Part III of this paper analyzes and looks at Singapore’s site blocking regime as an example of how a country in the same region as Vietnam has tackled the issue of site blocking via statute. Part IV of the paper will look at India’s common law site blocking regime and discusses commonalities in various site blocking regimes. Part V of the paper looks at the French civil law site blocking regime given Vietnam’s civil law system. Finally, Part VI will look at what an effective site blocking regime might look like in Vietnam. g y p 26 European Union Intellectual Property Office, Study on Dynamic Blocking Injunctions in the European Union, 16, March 2021. , , y , , https://www.medianama.com/2012/05/223-isp-wise-list-of-blocked-sites-indiablocks/. 20 Indian courts have been ordering ISPs to block pirate websites to protect new releases of Indian films for many years. See Delhi HC restrains 30 torrent sites from hosting copyrighted content, orders ISPs to block them, FINANCIAL EXPRESS, April 11, 2019, https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/delhi- hc-restrains-30-torrent-sites-from-hosting-copyrighted-content-orders-isps-to-block-them/1545480/; Bill Toulas, ISPs in India Ordered to Block Pirate Bay, Torrentz2, YTS, and 1337x, TECHNADU, April 12, 2019, https://www.technadu.com/isps-india-ordered-block-pirate-bay-torrentz2-yts-1337x/64592/; Javed Anwer, 830 more websites blocked in India, many torrent links in list, INDIA TODAY, August 25, 2016 (“Blocking of hundreds of URLs at the behest of film producers is not new in India. It has become almost routine to for film producers to approach court before release of a film and take John Doe orders, leading to the blocking of the websites. Not only torrent sites have been blocked under such orders but also image hosts, file hosts and websites that share URLs”), https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/830- more-websites-blocked-in-india-many-torrent-links-in-list-337177-2016-08-25; Anupam Saxena, ISP Wise List Of Blocked Sites #IndiaBlocks, MEDIANAMA, May 17, 2012, https://www.medianama.com/2012/05/223-isp-wise-list-of-blocked-sites-indiablocks/. 21 Irene Tham, Solarmovie.ph is first piracy website to be blocked under amended Copyright Act, The Straits Times, 16 February 2016, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/solarmovieph-is-first-piracy- website-to-be-blocked-under-amended-copyright-act/ ; See also Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific, Singapore allows dynamic site blocking in landmark court ruling – Any Web address linking to blocked piracy sites can now be blocked as well, MPA APAC In The News, 19 July 2018, (“A spokesman for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore said: “We are glad to see rights holders utili[z]ing the legal framework that we have put in place to protect their copyright works.””), https://www.mpa- apac.org/in_the_news/singapore-allows-dynamic-site-blocking-in-landmark-court-ruling-any-web- address-linking-to-blocked-piracy-sites-can-now-be-blocked-as-well/. 22 Nigel Cory, supra note 6. 23 Id. at 22. 24 Id. at 22. 25 Nigel Cory, supra note 6. 26 European Union Intellectual Property Office, Study on Dynamic Blocking Injunctions in the European Union, 16, March 2021. I. SITE BLOCKING: AN OVERVIEW The age of the internet has enabled electronic copying and sharing of content across many geographic and jurisdictional borders. 22 This often can include protected copyrighted material. 23 However, IP laws and regulations are usually limited jurisdictionally to the countries in which they are enacted, while the domain of the internet is borderless.24 Thus, site blocking is generally seen as a response to limitations faced by domestic copyright regimes against a borderless internet.25 Site blocking operates by allowing rights-holders to get internet service providers (ISPs) to block domestic access to sites that are known to host or distribute large amounts of pirated or infringing material.26 Research has generally shown that efficient and prolific site blocking leads to 21 Irene Tham, Solarmovie.ph is first piracy website to be blocked under amended Copyright Act, The Straits Times, 16 February 2016, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/solarmovieph-is-first-piracy- website-to-be-blocked-under-amended-copyright-act/ ; See also Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific, Singapore allows dynamic site blocking in landmark court ruling – Any Web address linking to blocked piracy sites can now be blocked as well, MPA APAC In The News, 19 July 2018, (“A spokesman for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore said: “We are glad to see rights holders utili[z]ing the legal framework that we have put in place to protect their copyright works.””), https://www.mpa- apac.org/in_the_news/singapore-allows-dynamic-site-blocking-in-landmark-court-ruling-any-web- dd li ki t bl k d i it b bl k d ll/ 21 Irene Tham, Solarmovie.ph is first piracy website to be blocked under amended Copyright Act, The Straits Times, 16 February 2016, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/solarmovieph-is-first-piracy- website-to-be-blocked-under-amended-copyright-act/ ; See also Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific, Singapore allows dynamic site blocking in landmark court ruling – Any Web address linking to blocked piracy sites can now be blocked as well, MPA APAC In The News, 19 July 2018, (“A spokesman for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore said: “We are glad to see rights holders utili[z]ing the legal framework that we have put in place to protect their copyright works.””), https://www.mpa- apac.org/in_the_news/singapore-allows-dynamic-site-blocking-in-landmark-court-ruling-any-web- address linking to blocked piracy sites can now be blocked as well/ 22 Nigel Cory, supra note 6. 23 Id. at 22. 24 Id. at 22. 25 Nigel Cory, supra note 6. 27 Brett Danaher et al., Website Blocking Revisited: The Effect of the UK November 2014 Blocks on Consumer Behavior, 16-19, 18 April 2016. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2766795_code986726.pdf?abstractid=2766795&miri d=1/; Motion Picture Association, Measuring the Effect of Piracy Website Blocking in Australia on Consumer Behavior: December 2018, 6-8, January 2020, https://www.mpa-apac.org/wp- content/uploads/2020/02/Australia-Site-Blocking-Summary-January-2020.pdf/. 28 Justin Hughes, In response to questions from Senators Tillis, Coons, and Blumenthal, Senate Judiciary Committee / Intellectual Property Subcommittee, 7, 14 April 2020. 29 34 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 305; Brett Danaher et al., supra note 27 at 16-19; Motion Picture Association, Measuring the Effect of Piracy Website Blocking in Australia on Consumer Behavior: December 2018, supra note 27 at 6-8. g y 37 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 287. 32 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11-12. 31 Victor Loh, Court order makes it easier for copyright owners to curb access to piracy websites, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/court-order-makes-it-easier-copyright-owners-curb-access- piracy-websites/. 32 27 Brett Danaher et al., Website Blocking Revisited: The Effect of the UK November 2014 Blocks on Consumer Behavior, 16-19, 18 April 2016. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2766795_code986726.pdf?abstractid=2766795&mi d=1/; Motion Picture Association, Measuring the Effect of Piracy Website Blocking in Australia on Consumer Behavior: December 2018, 6-8, January 2020, https://www.mpa-apac.org/wp- content/uploads/2020/02/Australia-Site-Blocking-Summary-January-2020.pdf/. 28 Justin Hughes, In response to questions from Senators Tillis, Coons, and Blumenthal, Senate Judiciary Committee / Intellectual Property Subcommittee, 7, 14 April 2020. 29 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 9. 30 Peter Carstairs, The Inevitable Actors: An Analysis of Australia’s Recent Anti-piracy Website Blocking Laws, Their Balancing of Rights and Overall Effectiveness, (2021) 31 AIPJ 280, 286. 31 Victor Loh, Court order makes it easier for copyright owners to curb access to piracy websites, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/court-order-makes-it-easier-copyright-owners-curb-access- piracy-websites/. 32 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11-12. 33 Id. at 32. 34 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 305; Brett Danaher et al., supra note 27 at 16-19; Motion Picture Association, Measuring the Effect of Piracy Website Blocking in Australia on Consumer Behavior: December 2018, supra note 27 at 6-8. 35 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 300; Grace Espinosa, Internet Piracy: Is Protecting Intellectual Property Worth Government Censorship?, 18 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 309, 332-34 (2011). 36 [CS(COMM) 724/2017 & I.As. 12269/2017, 12271/2017, 6985/2018, 8949/2018 AND 16781/2018], Decision of 10 April 2019 at ¶55-56; See also Nigel Cory, India and Website Blocking: Courts Allow Dynamic Injunctions to Fight Digital Piracy, May 29, 2019, https://itif.org/publications/2019/05/29/india and-website-blocking-courts-allow-dynamic-injunctions-fight-digital/. 37 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 287. p y p , y , ( ) 36 [CS(COMM) 724/2017 & I.As. 12269/2017, 12271/2017, 6985/2018, 8949/2018 AND 16781/2018], Decision of 10 April 2019 at ¶55-56; See also Nigel Cory, India and Website Blocking: Courts Allow Dynamic Injunctions to Fight Digital Piracy, May 29, 2019, https://itif.org/publications/2019/05/29/india and-website-blocking-courts-allow-dynamic-injunctions-fight-digital/. 35 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 300; Grace Espinosa, Internet Piracy: Is Protecting Intellectual Property Worth Government Censorship?, 18 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 309, 332-34 (2011). g p 30 Peter Carstairs, The Inevitable Actors: An Analysis of Australia’s Recent Anti-piracy Website Blocking Laws, Their Balancing of Rights and Overall Effectiveness, (2021) 31 AIPJ 280, 286. p y 29 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 9. II. A STATUTORY FRAMEWORK: SITE BLOCKING IN SINGAPORE Less than a three-hour plane ride away from Vietnam’s capital Hanoi lies Singapore. Singapore inherited its common law tradition from the British and shares membership in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with Vietnam.38 Besides geographic proximity, Singapore also happens to be a party to many of the treaties that Vietnam has signed or is planning to sign, including the WCT39 and the CPTPP40. These treaties are relevant because they stipulate that signatory nations have a responsibility to ensure effective enforcement mechanisms around all forms of copyright infringement covered by the WCT, which likely includes online piracy.41 Further, both Singapore and Vietnam have been parties to numerous ASEAN treaties, including the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation.42 The ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation requires signatories to cooperate in areas around intellectual property legislation, particularly where it involves the implementation of international intellectual property treaties like the WCT.43 Thus, Singapore’s current site blocking regime is likely going to be relevant when Vietnam’s government considers what should be implemented in Vietnam. In short, because of Singapore’s geographic proximity and many shared multilateral treaties, a look at Singapore’s site blocking regime can be informative and useful. I. SITE BLOCKING: AN OVERVIEW Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 55 real world decreases in total online piracy and increases in the use of paid legal streaming services.27 Therefore, it should not be surprising that the creation of a domestic site blocking regime has been embraced in many jurisdictions, including Australia, many parts of the EU, Singapore, India, and the United Kingdom.28 However, the creation of a site blocking regime is not always so simple. Firstly, countries looking to implement such a regime must ensure that it only targets sites that can be identified as embracing online piracy or infringement.29 This is difficult because infringing content is being posted online everyday by end users on a myriad of legitimate and illegitimate sites. If one does not adequately identify which sites should be blocked for embracing piracy, you run the risk of blocking even legitimate sites and stifling the internet, i.e. “over blocking”.30 Secondly, the reality of online practice is that when infringing sites are blocked or taken down, infringing sites attempt to circumvent such orders by changing domain names, redirecting traffic, or having dynamic IP addresses.31 This creates a situation where the original blocking order is essentially rendered useless and rights holders would have to begin the process all over again for every slight change in domain name or IP address. Hence, to ensure that site blocking regimes remain effective, courts in the France, Singapore, and India, have allowed for the creation of dynamic injunctions.32 These dynamic injunctions allow for the blocking of IP addresses and multiple domain names to account for the common practice of redirecting or changing domain names. 33 These two issues have created similarities among countries with effective site blocking regimes around clear legal standards targeting online piracy and responsive enforcement measures to keep up with infringers. While site blocking measures are effective at reducing traffic to infringing sites34, numerous concerns in various jurisdictions have been raised about site blocking’s ability to stifle free speech 35, strangle internet freedom 36, and the proportionality of such responses to internet piracy. 37 Hence, understanding how other Asian site blocking p y p , y , ( ) 36 [CS(COMM) 724/2017 & I.As. 12269/2017, 12271/2017, 6985/2018, 8949/2018 AND 16781/2018], Decision of 10 April 2019 at ¶55-56; See also Nigel Cory, India and Website Blocking: Courts Allow Dynamic Injunctions to Fight Digital Piracy, May 29, 2019, https://itif.org/publications/2019/05/29/india- and-website-blocking-courts-allow-dynamic-injunctions-fight-digital/. I. SITE BLOCKING: AN OVERVIEW Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 56 regimes, like India and Singapore, have attempted to create an effective site blocking regime and balance the associated concerns can be informative in ascertaining what site blocking might need to look like in Vietnam. ASEAN, ASEAN Member States, https://asean.org/about asean/member states/. 39 WIPO Lex, WIPO-Administered Treaties, Contracting Parties WIPO Copyright Treaty, https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/treaties/ShowResults?search_what=C&treaty_id=16/ . 40 Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, 19 July 2018, https://www.mti.gov.sg/-/media/MTI/improving- trade/multilateral-and-regional-forums/CPTPP/cptpp-ratification---19-july-2018.pdf/. 41 WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 42ASEAN, ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation, 15 December 1995, 38 ASEAN, ASEAN Member States, https://asean.org/about-asean/member-states/. 39 WIPO Lex, WIPO-Administered Treaties, Contracting Parties WIPO Copyright Treaty, https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/treaties/ShowResults?search_what=C&treaty_id=16/ . 40 Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, 19 July 2018, https://www.mti.gov.sg/-/media/MTI/improving- trade/multilateral-and-regional-forums/CPTPP/cptpp-ratification---19-july-2018.pdf/. 41 WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 42ASEAN, ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation, 15 December 1995, https://www.aseanip.org/Portals/0/PDF/ASEANFrameworkAgreementonIntellectualPropertyCooperation. pdf/. 43 ASEAN, supra note 42 at Article 3(3) 44 There was little to no debate recorded in parliament surrounding the amendments to the Copyright Act creating the site blocking regime. See Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, 7 July 2014, http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill- 100/.Parliament of Singapore, Third Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, 8 July 2014, http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-337/. 45 Ashley Chia, Amendments to Copyright Act aim to stop online piracy, Today Online, July 08, 2014, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/amendments-copyright-act-aim-stop-online-piracy/. 46 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44, (Senior Minister of State for Law (Ms Indranee Rajah): “The prevalence of online piracy in Singapore turns customers away from legitimate content and adversely affects Singapore's creative sector. It can also undermine our reputation as a society that respects the protection of intellectual property… We, therefore, need to take stronger measures against online piracy.”). p 43 ASEAN, supra note 42 at Article 3(3) ASEAN, supra note 42 at Article 3(3) 44 There was little to no debate recorded in parliament surrounding the amendments to the Copyright Act creating the site blocking regime. See Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, 7 July 2014, http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill- 100/.Parliament of Singapore, Third Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, 8 July 2014, http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-337/. 5 , py g y, ( ) 42ASEAN, ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation, 15 December 1995, 42ASEAN, ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation, 15 December 1995, https://www.aseanip.org/Portals/0/PDF/ASEANFrameworkAgreementonIntellectualPropertyCooperatio pdf/. creating the site blocking regime. See Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, 7 July 2014, http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill- 100/.Parliament of Singapore, Third Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, 8 July 2014, http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-337/. 45 Ashley Chia, Amendments to Copyright Act aim to stop online piracy, Today Online, July 08, 2014, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/amendments-copyright-act-aim-stop-online-piracy/. 46 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44, (Senior Minister of State for Law (Ms Indranee Rajah): “The prevalence of online piracy in Singapore turns t f l iti t t t d d l ff t Si ' ti t It l http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-337/. 45 Ashley Chia, Amendments to Copyright Act aim to stop online piracy, Today Online, July 08, 2014, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/amendments-copyright-act-aim-stop-online-piracy/. 38 ASEAN, ASEAN Member States, https://asean.org/about-asean/member-states/. g p pp WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). g p pp j y p 41 WIPO Lex, WIPO Copyright Treaty, Article 14(2). 42ASEAN, ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation, 15 December 1995, https://www.aseanip.org/Portals/0/PDF/ASEANFrameworkAgreementonIntellectualPropertyCooperation. pdf/. 43 ASEAN, supra note 42 at Article 3(3) 44 There was little to no debate recorded in parliament surrounding the amendments to the Copyright Act creating the site blocking regime See Parliament of Singapore Second Reading of Copyright A. Overview of Statutory Site Blocking in Singapore The amendment to Singapore’s Copyright Act which instituted its site blocking regime was passed without much opposition44 in 2014.45 The goal of Singapore’s site blocking regime is to actively combat online piracy46 and “empower rights owners to p y g p py g p p y 46 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44, (Senior Minister of State for Law (Ms Indranee Rajah): “The prevalence of online piracy in Singapore turns customers away from legitimate content and adversely affects Singapore's creative sector. It can also undermine our reputation as a society that respects the protection of intellectual property… We, therefore, need to take stronger measures against online piracy.”). Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 57 more effectively disable access to sites that flagrantly infringe copyright”.47 The main statutory provision instituting Singapore’s site blocking is Article 193DDA. It works by allowing for a copyright holder or exclusive licensee to petition the court for a “blocking order” or injunction directing an ISP to block access to a “flagrantly infringing online location” (FIOL).48 To obtain a site blocking order the copyright holder or exclusive licensee would have to prove that 1) the website has been used or is being used to commit or facilitate copyright infringement and 2) the website is a “flagrantly infringing online location”.49 In Singapore, a “flagrantly infringing online location” is defined as a website which “flagrantly infringes or facilitates infringement of copyright materials”. 50 In determining whether an online location is a “flagrantly infringing online location”, courts consider non‑exhaustive factors as set out in the statute:51 (a) whether the primary purpose of the online location is to commit or facilitate copyright infringement; (b) whether the online location makes available or contains directories, indexes or categories of the means to commit or facilitate copyright infringement; (c) whether the owner or operator of the online location demonstrates a disregard for copyright generally; (d) whether access to the online location has been disabled by orders from any court of another country or territory on the ground of or related to copyright infringement; (e) whether the online location contains guides or instructions to circumvent measures, or any order of any court, that disables access to the online location on the ground of or related to copyright infringement; 52 (f) the volume of traffic at or frequency of access to the online location. , p g g g pp 49 Article 193DDA(1)(b), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st Januar 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 48. 47 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44. 54 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 284-85. See also Australia, Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act (2018), Section 115A; Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11 & 42 (noting the similarities in the Australian and Singaporean site blocking statutes). 52 Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). 53 g p , g py g ( ) , p 48 Article 193DDA, Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January g p g 55 Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 48. 53 David Tan, Copyright reform and what it means for your wedding photos, Straits Times, 17 Septembe 2021, https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/copyright-reform-and-what-it-means-for-your-wedding- photos/. 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Bills-Supp/16-2014/Published/20140529?DocDate=20140529#xn-. , g p py g ( p g p ) ( y 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill p 50 Parliament of Singapore, supra note 49. 52 Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). 53 David Tan, Copyright reform and what it means for your wedding photos, Straits Times, 17 September 2021 https://www straitstimes com/opinion/copyright reform and what it means for your wedding Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). 53 David Tan, Copyright reform and what it means for your wedding photos, Straits Times, 17 September 2021, https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/copyright-reform-and-what-it-means-for-your-wedding- photos/. 54 Peter Carstairs supra note 30 at 284-85 See also Australia Copyright Amendment (Online 47 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44. 48 Article 193DDA, Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Bills-Supp/16-2014/Published/20140529?DocDate=20140529#xn-. 49 Article 193DDA(1)(b), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 48. 50 Parliament of Singapore supra note 49 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44. 48 Article 193DDA, Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Bills-Supp/16-2014/Published/20140529?DocDate=20140529#xn-. 49 47 Parliament of Singapore, Second Reading of Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 44. 48 Article 193DDA, Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Bills-Supp/16-2014/Published/20140529?DocDate=20140529#xn-. 49 Article 193DDA(1)(b), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 48. 50 Parliament of Singapore, supra note 49. 51 Id. at 50. 52 Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). 53 David Tan, Copyright reform and what it means for your wedding photos, Straits Times, 17 September 2021, https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/copyright-reform-and-what-it-means-for-your-wedding- photos/. 54 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 284-85. See also Australia, Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act (2018), Section 115A; Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11 & 42 (noting the similarities in the Australian and Singaporean site blocking statutes). 55 Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 48. p 57 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 291-92 (stating that the primary purpose language in the Australian statute creates a high threshold inevitably leading to a site blocking regime that is specific and targeted at flagrant infringing sites). See also Parliament of Australia, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2018, ¶ 10; Australian Department of Communication and the Arts, Regulation Impact Statement (2018), ¶83. 62 US DOJ Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Authorities Charge Owner of Most-Visited Illegal File-Sharing Website with Copyright Infringement, 20 July 2016, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-authorities-charge- owner-most-visited-illegal-file-sharing-website-copyright-infringement/. See also Nick Statt, KickassTorrents domains seized after alleged owner is arrested in Poland, 20 July 2016, The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2016/7/20/12243592/kickass-torrents-artem-vaulin-founder-arrested-domains- seized/. A. Overview of Statutory Site Blocking in Singapore 52 Considering Singapore’s Copyright Act has historically taken inspiration from the Australian and UK’s Copyright Acts,53 it should not be surprising that the factors listed and the process of obtaining a site blocking order is similar to the Australian site blocking regime, which follows a similar two-step criterion and factor test.54 The factors stated above help determine if a site is a FIOL.55 They ensure that sites largely operated for Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 58 legitimate purposes are excluded56 and ensure that the site blocking regime is specific and targeted at sites that “flagrantly” disregard copyright.57 In essence, sites with a legitimate purpose with only incidental infringing content or piracy are not the targets of the law.58 The factors also ensure that courts consider the proportionality of site blocking and ask, particularly in the case of the last factor around traffic/access, if blocking is appropriate given the circumstances and in the public interest.59 While seemingly well crafted, the statute still does not directly address how the site blocking orders would remain flexible amidst the common online practice of redirects, dynamic IP addresses, and changing domain names. To understand how Singapore came to have an effective site blocking regime that not only clearly defines infringing online locations but also allows for responsive enforcement, we look to the case of Disney Enterprises, Inc v M1 Ltd. 60 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 1-4. 61 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 24. 56 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 280, 291. 63 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 23- (“I was satisfied based on a consideration of all of the factors listed under s 193DDA (2) that the 53 websites were FIOLs. Hence, the requirement under s 193DDA(1)(b) was met. All of the 53 websites were one of the following: …(b) A streaming target website: a website which allows end-users to directly stream copyrighted content. These sites directly make available the films to the public and thereby both infringe and facilitate infringement of copyright”) 64 64 Victor Loh, supra note 31. KickassTorrents domains seized after alleged owner is arrested in Poland, 20 July 2016, The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2016/7/20/12243592/kickass-torrents-artem-vaulin-founder-arrested-domain seized/. 58 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 291. 59 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 293. 62 US DOJ Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Authorities Charge Owner of Most-Visited Illegal File-Sharing Website with Copyright Infringement, 20 July 2016, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-authorities-charg owner-most-visited-illegal-file-sharing-website-copyright-infringement/. See also Nick Statt, Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 59 In his decision, Justice Lee stated that a “dynamic injunction anticipates and seeks to counteract circumventive measures that may be taken by owners or operators of the FIOLs.”65 These measures include changes to domain names, IP addresses, or URL redirects.66 To illustrate this Justice Lee pointed to how multiple domain names, URLs, and IP addresses could be associated with one FIOL and showed how over the course of the litigation some FIOLs had even changed their domain names.67 Hence, Justice Lee stated that “the dynamic injunction is necessary to ensure that the [original] injunction operated effectively to reduce further harm to the plaintiffs”.68 He went on to further state that “Without a continuing obligation to block additional domain names, URLs and/or IP addresses upon being informed of such sites, it is unlikely that there would be effective disabling of access to the 53 FIOLs”.69 In short, the court found that dynamic injunctions should be a natural extension of any existing statutory site blocking regime70 and are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of site blocking.71 This ruling also established the practice and precedent for dynamic site blocking.72 Following the ruling, plaintiffs filing for blocking orders may file additional affidavits stating why a new website or domain name falls within the scope of an existing blocking order; the additional affidavits are then forwarded to ISPs, who can either extend the blocking order or dispute the merits of extending the blocking order.73 This system creates a structure that allows for a responsive system of injunctions that can keep pace with the circumventive methods of the internet. Hence, this ruling coupled with the clarity offered by Article 193DDA of Singapore’s Copyright Act, provides for an effective site blocking regime that is both clear and responsive. As shown later, Singapore’s rather simple yet effective site blocking regime leaves much to be admired and inspired other jurisdictions in implementing effective site blocking regimes. 74 India Copyright Act, 1957, No. 14, § 55, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India), India Copyright Act, 1957, No. 14, §§ 63, 63A, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India). See also Arpan Banerjee, Copyright Piracy and the Indian Film Industry: A "Realist" Assessment, 34 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 609, 661 (2016). y p 66 Id. at 65, (“This would include measures taken to change the domain name, URL and/or IP address providing access to the FIOL”). 68 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 42. 65 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 35. B. Disney Enterprises, Inc v M1 Ltd: Statutory Site Blocking in Practice and Dynamic Injunctions In Disney Enterprises, Inc v M1 Ltd, Disney, Paramount, and other rights holders sued major Singaporean ISPs seeking site blocking orders under Article 193DDA.60 The plaintiff sought blocking orders concerning 53 sites or online locations which were eventually found to be “fragrantly infringing online locations” (FIOLs).61 Among these 53 sites included notorious piracy site Kickass Torrents, which has also been subject to robust US enforcement.62 Notably, by applying the factors stated above, Justice Lee found the mere making available of infringing content for streaming was sufficient to classify a site as a FIOL.63 Furthermore, because the plaintiffs in the case sought a blocking order that would require ISPs to also block later discovered domain names and IP addresses that provide access to the same FIOLs, the court effectively established the need for dynamic injunctions as a part of a robust site blocking regime.64 64 Victor Loh, supra note 31. 69 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 42. 70 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 38. III. COMING TO THE SAME CONCLUSION: COMMON LAW SITE BLOCKING IN INDIA While Indian copyright legislation does provide for civil and criminal penalties like many other advanced nations74, site blocking in India is largely an operation of common 65 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 35. p g ) 67 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 35-6 (“Owners or operators of FIOLs are able to take measures which circumvent existing blocking orders since it is possible for a single FIOL to be accessed via multiple domain names, URLs and/or IP addresses. As an illustrations of the schedule to the plaintiffs’ application sought to block the FQDNs which provide access to the FIOL known as “series9”. Multiple domain names, URLs and IP addresses were associated with the “series9” FIOL… For example, the primary domain name for the FIOL “xmovies8” has since been changed from “xmovies8.es” to “xmovies8.nu”. As the domain name “xmovies8.nu” did not exist at the time of the application and was not listed under the plaintiffs’ schedule”) p ) 68 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 42. 69 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 42. 70 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 38. 71 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 42. 72 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11; See also Victor Loh, supra note 31. 73 stin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11; See also Victor Loh 73 Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 45. See also Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 11- 12. 74 74 India Copyright Act, 1957, No. 14, § 55, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India), India Copyright Act, 1957, No. 14, §§ 63, 63A, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India). See also Arpan Banerjee, Copyright Piracy and the Indian Film Industry: A "Realist" Assessment, 34 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 609, 661 (2016). 74 India Copyright Act, 1957, No. 14, § 55, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India), India Copyright Act, 1957, No. 14, §§ 63, 63A, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India). See also Arpan Banerjee, Copyright Piracy and the Indian Film Industry: A "Realist" Assessment, 34 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 609, 661 (2016). 75 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 10. 76 FE Bureau, India Box Office collections: Regional cinema led by Telugu, Tamil movies overtakes Bollywood, Financial Express, July 11, 2020, https://www.financialexpress.com/entertainment/bollywoods-big-but-regional-cinema-is-also-raking-in- the-moolah/2020134/; PTI, Indian film industry's gross box office earnings may reach $3.7 billion by 2020: Report, DNA INDIA, September 26, 2016, https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-indian- film-industry-s-gross-box-office-earnings-may-reach-37-billion-by-2020-report-2258789/. 77 Ni l C t 36 III. COMING TO THE SAME CONCLUSION: COMMON LAW SITE BLOCKING IN INDIA Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 60 law.75 India possesses a billion-dollar film industry76 that is dependent on the protection of intellectual property to grow and remain profitable.77 The existence of a site blocking regime has been recognized as an area of success for copyright law in India, where there seems to be a prevalent culture of online piracy.78 Indian courts have been issuing site blocking orders for years and become a part of addressing online piracy.79 However, unlike Singapore, India did not arrive at its site blocking regime instantly. It was only through numerous judgments did India largely feel its way towards clear legal standards which identify infringing online locations and subsequently responsive enforcement mechanisms. Throughout this process, various Indian courts have had to address concerns around site blocking.80 Therefore, India’s experience in common law site blocking can prove instructive in addressing concerns around site blocking and understanding what makes an effective site blocking regime. 79 See, e.g., Reliance v. Jyoti Cable, (2011) Civil Suit No. 1724 of 2011 (Del. H.C.) (Jul. 20, 2011) (India); Fox v. Macpuler, (2015) Civil Suit No. 2066 of 2011 (Delhi H.C.) (May 14, 2015) (India), Vodafone v. R.K. Productions (2013) 54 P.T.C. (Mad. H.C.) 149, (India), Yash Raj Films v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Civil Suit No. 692 of 2016 (Bom. H.C. July 4, 2016); UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). See Also Javed Anwer, supra note 20; Anupam Saxena, supra note 20. ) ( ) ( ) 85 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 286. 78 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 672. 77 Nigel Cory, supra note 36. 75 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 10. 76 FE Bureau, India Box Office collections: Regional cinema led by Telugu, Tamil movies overtakes Bollywood, Financial Express, July 11, 2020, https://www.financialexpress.com/entertainment/bollywoods-big-but-regional-cinema-is-also-raking-in- the-moolah/2020134/; PTI, Indian film industry's gross box office earnings may reach $3.7 billion by 2020: Report, DNA INDIA, September 26, 2016, https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-indian- film-industry-s-gross-box-office-earnings-may-reach-37-billion-by-2020-report-2258789/. 77 Nigel Cory, supra note 36. 78 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 672. 79 See, e.g., Reliance v. Jyoti Cable, (2011) Civil Suit No. 1724 of 2011 (Del. H.C.) (Jul. 20, 2011) (India); Fox v. Macpuler, (2015) Civil Suit No. 2066 of 2011 (Delhi H.C.) (May 14, 2015) (India), Vodafone v. R.K. Productions (2013) 54 P.T.C. (Mad. H.C.) 149, (India), Yash Raj Films v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Civil Suit No. 692 of 2016 (Bom. H.C. July 4, 2016); UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). See Also Javed Anwer, supra note 20; Anupam Saxena, supra note 20. 80 See e.g UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 21 (concerns around the proportionality of site blocking), 50 (concerns that online infringement should be treated differently than physical infringement), 55 (concerns around maintaining a free and open internet) (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 81 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 669. 82 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 666. 83 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 10. 84 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 667; See also Kunal Dua, Confusion Reigns as Indian ISPs Block Vimeo, Torrent Websites, NDTV (May 17, 2012), http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/confusion- reigns-as-indian-isps-block-vimeo-torrent-websites-223340; Nikhil Pawa, Update: Files Sharing Sites Blocked In India Because Reliance BIG Pictures Got A Court Order, MEDIANAMA (July 21, 2011), http://www.medianama.com/2011/07/223-files-sharing-sites-blocked-in-india-because-reliancebig- picturesgot-a-court-order; See also e.g., Reliance v. Jyoti Cable, (2011) Civil Suit No. 1724 of 2011 (Del. H.C.) (Jul. 20, 2011) (India) 85 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 286. 75 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 10. A. Overview of Site Blocking in India Website blocking orders from Indian courts have become a common and reliable means of copyright enforcement.81 In fact in certain industries, like the film industry, there has been a noticeable trend towards pre-emptive site blocking injunctions against infringing sites since 2011.82 Because India’s common law site blocking regime was largely developed through various judgements,83 the evolution of India’s site blocking regime has been mostly a patchwork process. Initially, the broad wording of some site blocking orders led to ISPs blocking entire websites84 and some “over-blocking”.85 This was eventually corrected by another case where the court limited site blocking orders to , p ; p , p 80 See e.g UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 21 (concerns around the proportionality of site blocking), 50 (concerns that online infringement should be treated differently than physical infringement), 55 (concerns around maintaining a free and open internet) (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 81 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 669. 82 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 666. 83 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 10. g p 84 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 667; See also Kunal Dua, Confusion Reigns as Indian ISPs Block Vimeo, Torrent Websites, NDTV (May 17, 2012), http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/confusion- reigns-as-indian-isps-block-vimeo-torrent-websites-223340; Nikhil Pawa, Update: Files Sharing Sites Blocked In India Because Reliance BIG Pictures Got A Court Order, MEDIANAMA (July 21, 2011), http://www.medianama.com/2011/07/223-files-sharing-sites-blocked-in-india-because-reliancebig- picturesgot a court order; See also e g Reliance v Jyoti Cable (2011) Civil Suit No 1724 of 2011 (Del 84 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 667; See also Kunal Dua, Confusion Reigns as Indian ISPs Block Vimeo, Torrent Websites, NDTV (May 17, 2012), http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/confusio reigns-as-indian-isps-block-vimeo-torrent-websites-223340; Nikhil Pawa, Update: Files Sharing Sites Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 667; See also Kunal Dua, Confusion Reigns as Indian ISPs Block Vimeo, Torrent Websites, NDTV (May 17, 2012), http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/confusion- reigns-as-indian-isps-block-vimeo-torrent-websites-223340; Nikhil Pawa, Update: Files Sharing Sites Blocked In India Because Reliance BIG Pictures Got A Court Order, MEDIANAMA (July 21, 2011), http://www.medianama.com/2011/07/223-files-sharing-sites-blocked-in-india-because-reliancebig- picturesgot-a-court-order; See also e.g., Reliance v. Jyoti Cable, (2011) Civil Suit No. 1724 of 2011 (Del. H.C.) (Jul. 20, 2011) (India) 85 Blocked In India Because Reliance BIG Pictures Got A Court Order, MEDIANAMA (July 21, 2011), http://www.medianama.com/2011/07/223-files-sharing-sites-blocked-in-india-because-reliancebig- picturesgot-a-court-order; See also e.g., Reliance v. Jyoti Cable, (2011) Civil Suit No. 1724 of 2011 (Del. H.C.) (Jul. 83 Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 10. 82 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 666. p g H.C.) (Jul. 20, 2011) (India) 86 Vodafone v. R.K. Productions (2013) 54 P.T.C. (Mad. H.C.) 149, ¶ 4 (India) (quoting an earlier order where the court had stated that “the interim injunction is granted only in respect of a particular URL where the infringing movie is kept and not in respect of the entire website.”). 8 A. Overview of Site Blocking in India 20, 2011) (India) 85 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 286. Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 61 only the URLs that were specifically hosting infringing content.86 However, by narrowly tailoring site blocking orders to specific URLs, it became difficult to enforce them when infringers simply changed their URL or domain names.87 The sometimes overbroad, inadequate, or contradictory site blocking orders, and corollary international developments in site blocking eventually led to the case of UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X.88 94 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 57 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 5 95 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 291-93. g g p p ) 87 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 668-9; See also Deity v. Star, Review Petition in First Appeal B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... v 1337X: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions 92 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 55 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India) (“just as supporting bans on the import of ivory or cross-border human trafficking does not make one a protectionist, supporting website blocking for sites dedicated to piracy does not make one an opponent of a free and open Internet. Consequently, this Court is of the opinion that advocating limits on accessing illegal content online does not violate open Internet principles.”). 93 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 53 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India) (“should an infringer of the copyright on the Internet be treated differently from an infringer in the physical world? If the view of the aforesaid Internet exceptionalists school of thought is accepted, then all infringers would shift to the e-world and claim immunity! A world without law is a lawless world. In fact, this Court is of the view that there is no logical reason why a crime in the physical world is not a crime in the digital world especially when the Copyright Act does not make any such distinction”). 92 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 55 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India) (“just as supporting bans on the import of ivory or cross-border human trafficking does not make one a protectionist, supporting website blocking for sites dedicated to piracy does not make one an opponent of a free and open Internet. Consequently, this Court is of the opinion that advocating limits on accessing illegal content online does not violate open Internet principles.”). 92 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 55 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India) (“just as supporting bans on the import of ivory or cross-border human trafficking does not make one a protectionist, supporting website blocking for sites dedicated to piracy does not make one an opponent of a free and open Internet. Consequently, this Court is of the opinion that advocating limits on accessing illegal content online does not violate open Internet principles.”). limits on accessing illegal content online does not violate open Internet principles. ). 93 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 53 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 668 9; See also Deity v. Star, Review Petition in First Appeal Order No. 57 of 2015, ¶ 14 (Del. H.C. July 29, 2016), available at B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... v 1337X: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... v 1337X: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions In the 2019 case of UTV Software Communication Ltd. v. 1337X, companies that were in the business of creating content, producing, and distributing films in India sued a host of defendants, including infringing websites, ISPs, and relevant Indian government agencies.89The plaintiffs sought an order directing ISPs to block access to a number of infringing websites like “1337.to” and “yts.am”.90 These websites were eventually found to be “rogue sites” or FIOLs.91 Addressing the “threat” a site blocking regime poses to internet freedom, Justice Manmohan stated that a site blocking regime was not inconsistent with a free and open internet.92 He also further iterated the need for the law to address online infringement no differently from offline infringement.93 The opinion then proceeded to distinguish between accidental and intentional piracy.94 Doing so requires effectively defining the scope of what a “rogue website” or “flagrantly infringing online location” (FIOLs) is. 95 This involves considering the proportionality of granting a site blocking order and creating a means of evaluating online http://lobis.nic.in/ddir/dhc/PNJ/judgement/29 07 2016/PNJ29072016REVIEWPET1312016.pdf/. 88 The case cites and points to various international developments in site blocking that it uses to decide the issue. See UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 11, 88- 93, 97-98 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). http://lobis.nic.in/ddir/dhc/PNJ/judgement/29 07 2016/PNJ29072016REVIEWPET1312016.pdf/. 88 The case cites and points to various international developments in site blocking that it uses to decide the issue. See UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 11, 88- 93, 97-98 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). , ( ) ( p , ) ( ) 89 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 2-4 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). ( ) ( p ) ( ) 89 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 2-4 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). ( p ) ( ) 90 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 2-4 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 91 Ni l C 36 90 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 2-4 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 91 Nigel Cory, supra note 36. 86 Vodafone v. R.K. Productions (2013) 54 P.T.C. (Mad. H.C.) 149, ¶ 4 (India) (quoting an earlier order where the court had stated that “the interim injunction is granted only in respect of a particular URL where the infringing movie is kept and not in respect of the entire website.”). 87 Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 668-9; See also Deity v. Star, Review Petition in First Appeal Order No. 57 of 2015, ¶ 14 (Del. H.C. July 29, 2016), available at http://lobis.nic.in/ddir/dhc/PNJ/judgement/29-07-2016/PNJ29072016REVIEWPET1312016.pdf/. 88 The case cites and points to various international developments in site blocking that it uses to decide the issue. See UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 11, 88- 93, 97-98 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 89 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 2-4 (Del. H.C.) (Apr 10 2019) (India) p j g p 88 The case cites and points to various international developments in site blocking that it uses to decide the issue. See UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 11, 8 93, 97-98 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). Arpan Banerjee, supra note 74 at 609, 668-9; See also Deity v. Star, Review Petition in First Appeal der No. 57 of 2015, ¶ 14 (Del. H.C. July 29, 2016), available at Order No. 57 of 2015, ¶ 14 (Del. H.C. July 29, 2016), available at http://lobis.nic.in/ddir/dhc/PNJ/judgement/29-07-2016/PNJ29072016REVIEWPET1312016.pdf/. B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... v 1337X: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions 10, 2019) (India) (“should an infringer of the copyright on the Internet be treated differently from an infringer in the physical world? If the view of the aforesaid Internet exceptionalists school of thought is accepted, then all infringers would shift to the e-world and claim immunity! A world without law is a lawless world. In fact, this Court is of the view that there is no logical reason why a crime in the physical world is not a crime in the digital world especially when the Copyright Act does not make any such distinction”). 93 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 53 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India) (“should an infringer of the copyright on the Internet be treated differently from an infringer in the physical world? If the view of the aforesaid Internet exceptionalists school of thought is accepted, then all infringers would shift to the e-world and claim immunity! A world without law is a lawless world. In fact, this Court is of the view that there is no logical reason why a crime in the physical world is not a crime in the digital world especially when the Copyright Act does not make any such distinction”). 93 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 53 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India) (“should an infringer of the copyright on the Internet be treated differently from an infringer in the physical world? If the view of the aforesaid Internet exceptionalists school of thought is accepted, then all infringers would shift to the e-world and claim immunity! A world without law is a lawless world. In fact, this Court is of the view that there is no logical reason why a crime in the physical world is not a crime in the digital world especially when the Copyright Act does not make any such distinction”). Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 62 behavior.96 After an exhaustive review of site blocking regimes internationally, including Singapore,97 the court eventually arrived at a non-exhaustive list of factors to determine if a site is “rogue” or a FIOL. 98 The list of factors are presented below alongside Singapore’s aforementioned statutory factors: UTX v. 1337X Factors99 Singapore Statutory Factors100 (a) Primary Purpose of the website 1. 96 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶¶ 57, 75-82 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 97 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 11 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). See also Article 193DDA, Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). See also Parliament of Singapore, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, supra note 48; Australia, Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act (2018), Section 115A; Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 9-11. 98 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 59 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 99 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 59 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 100 Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006). B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... v 1337X: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions Primary Purpose of the website is to commit or facilitate copyright infringement (b) Flagrancy of infringement or facilitation of infringement (c) There is no traceable or personal detail of the person who registered the website (d) Silence or Inaction by the website after receipt of take down notices for copyright infringement (e) The website makes available or contains directories, indexes or categorizes means to infringe or facilitates infringement 2. The website makes available or contains directories, indexes or categorizes means to infringe or facilitates infringement (f) The owner or operator of the site displays a disregard for copyright generally 3. The owner or operator of the site displays a disregard for copyright generally (g) Access to the website has been disabled by orders from other jurisdictions for copyright infringement 4. Access to the website has been disabled by orders from other jurisdictions for copyright infringement (h) The website contains guides or instructions to circumvent measures or 5. The website contains guides or instructions to circumvent measures or Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 63 orders of any court that blocks the site due to copyright infringement orders of any court that blocks the site due to copyright infringement (i) Volume of traffic or frequency of access to the website 6. Volume of traffic or frequency of access to the website (j) Any other relevant matter The similarity of these factors reflects a consensus around clear and effective standards which define a “rogue website” or FIOL. Furthermore, the factors have also been regarded in other jurisdictions as a means to ensure that sites largely operated for legitimate purposes are excluded and ensure that a site blocking regime is specifically targeted at sites that “flagrantly” disregard copyright. 101 They reflect a basic understanding that one of the first issues when designing a site blocking regime is to ensure that it only applies to FIOLs or “rogue websites” and to avoid the practice of “over- blocking”. One of the best ways to do that is to have a proportionate criterion in making that determination. 101 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 291-92 (stating that the primary purpose language in the Australian statute creates a high threshold inevitably leading to a site blocking regime that is specific and targeted at flagrant infringing sites). See also Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006); Parliament of Australia, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2018, ¶ 10; Australian Department of Communication and the Arts, Regulation Impact Statement (2018), ¶83. Compare MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 919 (2005) (“We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties”). 102 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 94-95 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 103 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 100 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). See also Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 35, 38, 42 (Singapore H.C.) (Singapore) 104 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 101 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India); See also Disney Enterprise v. Ml Ltd., (2018) SGHC 206 at ¶ 45 (Singapore H.C.) (Singapore) 105 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 61 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 101 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 291-92 (stating that the primary purpose language in the Australian statute creates a high threshold inevitably leading to a site blocking regime that is specific and targeted at flagrant infringing sites). See also Article 193DDA(2), Singapore Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws) (revised 31st January 2006); Parliament of Australia, Explanatory Statement for the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2018, ¶ 10; Australian Department of Communication and the Arts, Regulation Impact Statement (2018), ¶83. Compare MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 919 (2005) (“We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties”). B. Utv Software Communication Ltd. ... v 1337X: Common Law Site Blocking and Dynamic Injunctions Justice Manmohan Singh then also addresses the question of how to make site blocking effective against the practice of “hydra headed rogue websites” resurfacing under mirror websites, changed domain names, or dynamic IP addresses.102 Explicitly drawing lessons from the Singapore High Court’s judgment in Disney Enterprises, Inc v M1 Ltd, the court similarly established a practice of dynamic injunctions to ensure that site blocking orders were effective. 103 Unsurprisingly, the court implemented a similar procedure for the administration of dynamic injunctions allowing for plaintiffs to submit affidavits asserting with evidence that a website is merely a mirror, redirect, or changed IP address of an already blocked site.104 The reason for dynamic injunctions is a natural extension of the court’s qualitative determination of “rogue websites”. When considering a blocking order against a site, a court evaluates the site’s primary purpose qualitatively to determine if the actions of the site are infringing.105 This is different from considering it quantitatively, which will limit the court to considering specific URLs or domain names in isolation and blocking orders will lack the breadth necessary to combat the evasive Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 64 practices of “rogue websites”.106 Indeed, the court also suggests that a site changing URLs and domain names to evade a court order in effect shows that the site is “rogue” because it displays a blatant disregard for copyright and the site blocking order.107 Therefore, the court in India has found dynamic injunctions as a natural approach towards maintaining the effectiveness of a site blocking regime. 106 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 63 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 107 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 67 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 108 Carol V. Rose, The "New" Law and Development Movement in the Post-Cold War Era: A Vietnam Case Study, Law & Society Review, Vol. 32, No. 1. 93, 96-100, (1998). 109 BUI NGOC SON, Contextualizing the Global Constitution-Making Process: The Case of Vietnam, 64 Am. J. Comp. L. 931, 945-47 (2016). 110 The World Bank, Key Features of Common Law or Civil Law Systems, https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/legislation-regulation/framework-assessment/legal- systems/common-vs-civil-law 111 Thomas H. Reynolds (1998). "Introduction to Foreign and Comparative Law". In Rehberg, Jeanne; Popa, Radu D (eds.). Accidental Tourist on the New Frontier: An Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research, 47& 58. 112 Alain Levasseur, Code Napoleon or Code Portalis?, 43 Tul. L. Rev. 762, 769 (1969) (The role of legislation is to set, by taking a broad approach, the general propositions of the law, to establish principles which will be fertile in application, and not to get down to the details.) 113 Most of the EU countries named including France, Germany, and Greece are civil law jurisdictions that have issued site blocking injunctions, see Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 7. 114 Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society, art. 8, 2001 O.J. (L 167); Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 7. 111 Thomas H. Reynolds (1998). "Introduction to Foreign and Comparative Law". In Rehberg, Jeanne; Popa, Radu D (eds.). Accidental Tourist on the New Frontier: An Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research, 47& 58. 106 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 63 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 107 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 67 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 108 Carol V. Rose, The "New" Law and Development Movement in the Post-Cold War Era: A Vietnam Case Study, Law & Society Review, Vol. 32, No. 1. 93, 96-100, (1998). 109 BUI NGOC SON, Contextualizing the Global Constitution-Making Process: The Case of Vietnam, 64 Am. J. Comp. L. 931, 945-47 (2016). 110 The World Bank, Key Features of Common Law or Civil Law Systems, https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/legislation-regulation/framework-assessment/legal- systems/common-vs-civil-law 111 Thomas H. Reynolds (1998). "Introduction to Foreign and Comparative Law". In Rehberg, Jeanne; Popa, Radu D (eds.). Accidental Tourist on the New Frontier: An Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research, 47& 58. 112 Alain Levasseur Code Napoleon or Code Portalis? 43 Tul L Rev 762 769 (1969) (The role of 112 Alain Levasseur, Code Napoleon or Code Portalis?, 43 Tul. L. Rev. 762, 769 (1969) (The role of legislation is to set, by taking a broad approach, the general propositions of the law, to establish principles which will be fertile in application, and not to get down to the details.) https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/legislation-regulation/framework-assessment/legal- systems/common-vs-civil-law 106 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 63 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 107 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 67 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 108 Carol V. Rose, The "New" Law and Development Movement in the Post-Cold War Era: A Vietnam Case Study, Law & Society Review, Vol. 32, No. 1. 93, 96-100, (1998). 109 BUI NGOC SON, Contextualizing the Global Constitution-Making Process: The Case of Vietnam, 64 Am. J. Comp. L. 931, 945-47 (2016). 110 The World Bank, Key Features of Common Law or Civil Law Systems, IV. A CIVIL LAW APPROACH: SITE BLOCKING IN FRANCE It is important to note that unlike Singapore, India, or the United States, Vietnam is a code-based civil law system rather than a common law system. This is largely a feature of Vietnam’s colonial history and geography. As a former French colony and communist country, it should not be surprising that Vietnam’s legal system is strongly influenced by the historical French code system, Chinese law, and later communist Soviet law.108 In fact, in its most recent constitutional redrafting, both French and Chinese law were used in various areas as points of reference.109 In broad strokes, civil or code law jurisdictions regard the legal code as the primary source of law.110 The cases that arise out of the code are reviewed in isolation on a case-by-case basis without any precedential value.111 The role of civil code legislation is to be as broad as possible to anticipate the wide variety of potential scenarios.112 While the differences between Vietnam’s code-based system and the common law jurisdictions covered above seem like an obstacle to implementing site blocking in Vietnam, other code-based nations’ experiences in site blocking show it is possible.113 Because of its historical influence on Vietnamese law, it is helpful to also look at how France’s code-based civil law system has implemented an effective site blocking regime, based on similar principles of clear legal standards targeting online piracy and responsive enforcement measures. Within the EU, site blocking begins with the 2001 Information Society Directive. Article 8(3) of the directive provides for the ability for copyright owners to obtain “no fault” injunctions against ISPs to block pirated websites.114 The French legislature has codified this in the French intellectual property code and its laws for the digital 112 Alain Levasseur, Code Napoleon or Code Portalis?, 43 Tul. L. Rev. 762, 769 (1969) (The role of legislation is to set, by taking a broad approach, the general propositions of the law, to establish principle which will be fertile in application, and not to get down to the details.) pp g 113 Most of the EU countries named including France, Germany, and Greece are civil law jurisdictions that have issued site blocking injunctions, see Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 7. g j g p 114 Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society, art. IV. A CIVIL LAW APPROACH: SITE BLOCKING IN FRANCE 8, 2001 O.J. (L 167); Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 7. 114 Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society, art. 8, 2001 O.J. (L 167); Justin Hughes, supra note 28 at 7. Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 65 economy.115 In applying these laws, French courts have issued site blocking orders not only in cases of copyright infringement116 but also trademark issues.117 Furthermore, France has recently been considering administrative measures implementing site blocking like a blacklist of piracy sites.118 Various European courts have also blocked sites in cases where infringing link without the right holder’s permission was hosted119 and in cases where video sites were found to be “fully dedicated or virtually dedicated” to copyright infringement.120 The relevant legislation and cases suggest that even in a code-based system, it is possible to have a site blocking regime that is clear and responsive. French civil courts have also been open to ordering dynamic injunctions against ISPs to address evasive measures taken by some infringing websites.121 In a case brought by various scientific publishing companies against ISPs seeking dynamic injunctions against infringing sites, the French court applying the aforementioned laws found dynamic injunctions appropriate.122 This decision was based on similar concerns surrounding the evasive measures taken by some infringing sites in changing domain names and access paths.123 Similar decisions can be found in many other EU member states with civil law 115 Article 6 I 8° of the Law for confidence in the digital economy, (“The judicial authority may prescribe, in summary proceedings or on application, to any person mentioned in 2 (host) or, failing that, to any person mentioned in 1 (ISP), any measures to prevent damage or to put an end to damage caused by the content of a communication service to the public online”); Article L. IV. A CIVIL LAW APPROACH: SITE BLOCKING IN FRANCE 336-2 of the French Intellectual Property Code, (“In the event of an infringement of copyright or a related right caused by the content of a communication to the public online service, the president of the judicial court ruling according to the accelerated procedure on the merits may order, at the request of the owner of rights in protected works and objects, their successors in title, collective management bodies governed by Title II of Book III or professional defense bodies referred to in Article L.”. 331-1, any measures to prevent or stop such infringement of copyright or a related right, against any person likely to contribute to remedying it. The request may also be made by the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée”). See also Alya Bloum, French Supreme Court: Internet intermediaries must pay for blocking measures against illegal streaming websites, August 3, 2017, Hogan Lovells Global Media and Communications Watch, g g https://www.hlmediacomms.com/2017/08/03/french-supreme-court-internet-intermediaries-must-pay-for- blocking-measures-against-illegal-streaming-websites/. g g https://www.hlmediacomms.com/2017/08/03/french-supreme-court-internet-intermediaries-must-pay-for- blocking-measures-against-illegal-streaming-websites/. 116 Clara Hainsdorf & Bertrand Liard, French Courts Ordered to Block and Delist 16 Streaming Websites, JD SUPRA, Jan. 13, 2014, https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/french-courts-ordered-to-block-and-delis- 08092/. 117 Anne-Marie Pecoraro, Rodolphe Boissau, Trademark law: counterfeiting. A look back at two trademark court decisions allowing site-blocking of massively infringing sites in France., Dec. 11, 2020 17 Anne-Marie Pecoraro, Rodolphe Boissau, Trademark law: counterfeiting. A look back at two , p , g trademark court decisions allowing site-blocking of massively infringing sites in France., Dec. 11, 2020, https://www.uggc.com/en/trademark-law-counterfeiting-a-look-back-at-two-trademark-court-decisions- allowing-site-blocking-of-massively-infringing-sites-in-france/. 118 Nigel Cory, supra note 6; Ernesto Van der Sar, French Minister of Culture Calls For Pirate Streaming Blacklist, April 23, 2018, https://torrentfreak.com/french-minister-of-culture-calls-for-pirate-streaming- blacklist-180423/. 119 UPC Telekabel Wien v. Constantin Film Verleih, Court of Justice of the European Union, Case C- 314/12, ¶ 25, March 27, 2014 (“it must be stated that an act of making protected subject-matter available to the public on a website without the rightholders’ consent infringes copyright and related rights”); See also UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 9 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 121 European Union Intellectual Property Office, supra note 26 at 35 (“Dynamic blocking injunctions are available – and have been granted – in most SMS, including Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK”). It could be argued that France imposes a heavier burden on ISPs to police evasive measures undertaken by infringing sites through dynamic injunctions. 122 Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 7 March 2019, 18/14194 (France). See also, supra note 26 at 77 78. 123 Id. at 122. ( p ) ( ) 120 Clara Hainsdorf & Bertrand Liard, supra note 116. V. CLEARING THE FOG: THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE SITE BLOCKING IN VIETNAM Vietnam has a rapidly growing online marketplace and a vibrant online infringement culture.125 Sixty percent of all internet consumers in Vietnam openly admit to streaming on piracy sites.126 While there are laws that attempt to address the problem of online piracy,127 the reality is that Vietnam’s current framework allows for a fair amount of online piracy.128 However, it is long overdue for Vietnam to address these issues. 129With Vietnam’s accession to both the CPTPP130 in 2018 and the WCT at the end of 2021,131 this has not been more pressing. The previously discussed cases and jurisdictions show that Vietnam has plenty of good examples to follow in establishing an effective site blocking regime with clear legal standards targeting online piracy and responsive enforcement measures to keep up with infringers. They also provide significant guidance on how to consider the potential issues that arise when establishing an effective site blocking regime. However, a lack of clarity and efficacy in Vietnam’s intellectual property laws as well as structural issues in Vietnam’s economic system pose challenges to the direct application of the previously discussed models. IV. A CIVIL LAW APPROACH: SITE BLOCKING IN FRANCE See Supreme Court of France (Cour De Cassation), 6 July 2017, 16-17.217 (France); Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 23 May 2019, RG 19/001744 (France). 121 European Union Intellectual Property Office, supra note 26 at 35 (“Dynamic blocking injunctions are available – and have been granted – in most SMS, including Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK”). It could be argued that France imposes a heavier burden on ISPs to police evasive measures undertaken by infringing sites through dynamic injunctions. See Supreme Court of France (Cour De Cassation), 6 July 2017, 16-17.217 (France); Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 23 May 2019, RG 19/001744 (France). , y , ( ) 122 Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 7 March 2019, 18/14194 (France). See also, supra note 26 at 77- 78. 123 Id. at 122. y ( ) 122 Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 7 March 2019, 18/14194 (France). See also, supra note 26 at 77- 78. 123 Id. at 122. Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 66 systems.124 Therefore, when taken together, the French experience and that of many other EU civil law regimes show that a clear and effective site blocking regime is possible in a civil law jurisdiction. Vietnam should be no exception. p 126 New survey shows Vietnam among highest in online piracy in Southeast Asia., supra note 7. 127 See Law No 50/2005/QH11 of November 29 2005 on Intellectual Property; Joint Circular No 124 European Union Intellectual Property Office, Study on Dynamic Blocking Injunctions in the European Union, supra note 26 at 110-132; See also e.g. Maritime and Commercial Court (Sø- & Handelsretten), Case Number A-51-17, 21 February 2018, Fritz Hansen A/S and Others (represented by Rettighedsalliancen SMF.) v Telia Danmark A/S and Dominidesign Furniture LTD (Denmark); Sony Music Entertainment (Ireland) & Ors v UPC; Communications Ireland Limited [2016] IECA 231 (Ireland); Amsterdam Court of Appeal, Brein v. Ziggo and XS4ALL, 2 June 2020, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2020:1421 (Netherlands); Court of Milan, Ordinanza N.42163/2019 R.G. of 5 October , y , g ( y) 125 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 108. y y 2021. See CPTPP, supra note 17 at 18-5, 18-64. 124 European Union Intellectual Property Office, Study on Dynamic Blocking Injunctions in the European Union, supra note 26 at 110-132; See also e.g. Maritime and Commercial Court (Sø- & Handelsretten), Case Number A-51-17, 21 February 2018, Fritz Hansen A/S and Others (represented by Rettighedsalliancen SMF.) v Telia Danmark A/S and Dominidesign Furniture LTD (Denmark); Sony Music Entertainment (Ireland) & Ors v UPC; Communications Ireland Limited [2016] IECA 231 (Ireland); Amsterdam Court of Appeal, Brein v. Ziggo and XS4ALL, 2 June 2020, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2020:1421 (Netherlands); Court of Milan, Ordinanza N.42163/2019 R.G. of 5 October 2020, Sky Italia, Lega Serie A V Cloudflare and Others (Italy). 125 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 108. 126 New survey shows Vietnam among highest in online piracy in Southeast Asia., supra note 7. 127 See Law No. 50/2005/QH11 of November 29, 2005, on Intellectual Property; Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127. 128 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106. 129 See supra where Vietnam is failing their TRIPS obligations. See also IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 110. 130 Government of New Zealand, supra note 16. 131 In short, when Vietnam signed the CPTPP, it took out a reservation on accession to the WCT for three years. This means that Vietnam was allowed to sign the treaty as long as it acceded to the WCT within 3 years. Since the treaty went into effect on December 31, 2018, three years from then is December 31, 2021. See CPTPP, supra note 17 at 18-5, 18-64. , p In short, when Vietnam signed the CPTPP, it took out a reservation on accession to the WCT for three ars. This means that Vietnam was allowed to sign the treaty as long as it acceded to the WCT within 3 Q , , p y; 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127. y g y g years. Since the treaty went into effect on December 31, 2018, three years from then is December 31, 128 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106. This means that Vietnam was allowed to sign the treaty as long as it acceded to the WCT within 3 Since the treaty went into effect on December 31, 2018, three years from then is December 31, See CPTPP supra note 17 at 18-5 18-64 years. This means that Vietnam was allowed to sign the treaty as long as it acceded to the WCT within 3 years. Since the treaty went into effect on December 31, 2018, three years from then is December 31, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2020:1421 (Netherlands); Court of Milan, Ordinanza N.42163/2019 R.G. of 5 Octob 2020, Sky Italia, Lega Serie A V Cloudflare and Others (Italy). 132 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106-7. 133 Law No. 50/2005/QH11 of November 29, 2005, on Intellectual Property, supra note 127. 134 I cannot prove a negative but the law will be cited so people can see for themselves. Law No. 50/2005/QH11 of November 29, 2005, on Intellectual Property, supra note 127; See also IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 135 3 Nimmer on Copyright § 12.04 (2021). 136 Notice these statutes both allow for the holding of third parties to the infringement accountable, Article 6 I 8° of the Law for confidence in the digital economy, see supra note 115; Article L. 336-2 of the French Intellectual Property Code, supra note 115. 137 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5. 138 Id. at 137. 139 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 1. Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property Because Vietnam is a civil code jurisdiction, understanding the copyright protections in Vietnam begins with its intellectual property code. 133 While the law provides for the possibility of administrative sanction and certain remedies for copyright infringement, it does not currently state any form of secondary liability.134 This is highly problematic when considered in the context of online piracy because most infringers are not ISPs hosting infringing content but are end-users who use an ISP’s services to access infringing sites. The lack of secondary liability leaves rights holders with little recourse against online piracy. The problem is further exacerbated when one recalls that secondary liability is largely an operation of common law. 135 Without statutes like the aforementioned French provisions which allow courts to hold third-parties accountable,136 it is unclear how much authority Vietnamese courts have over ISPs. With such a lack of clarity over the law, it would be difficult to hold ISPs accountable much less ask them to block sites. Thus, the lack of ISP accountability has allowed for purveyors of online piracy and their end-users to effectively escape any form of consequences. A. Copyright Protection in Vietnam: A Lack of Clarity and Efficacy If a clear and responsive site blocking regime is possible, there is a natural question around why Vietnam’s current system is inadequate. While the existence of the Vietnamese Law on Intellectual Property and its associated regulations seem to suggest some form of copyright protection that can be used to combat online piracy, Vietnam 129 See supra where Vietnam is failing their TRIPS obligations. See also IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 110. 130 Government of New Zealand, supra note 16. y y 2021. See CPTPP, supra note 17 at 18-5, 18-64. Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 67 suffers from an absence of law and accountability necessary for its already poor enforcement mechanisms.132 1. Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property 139 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 132 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106-7. 137 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5. 138 Id. at 137. 142 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 107; See also Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127. 143 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 1; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 144 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 2. Circular 07 Interestingly, in 2012, the Ministry of Information and Communications in Vietnam released Joint Circular 07/2012/TTLT- BTTTT – BVHTTDL, stipulating the duties of enterprises providing intermediary service, like ISPs, in the protection of copyright and related rights on the Internet and in the telecommunication networks environment.137 It imposed a duty on ISPs and intermediaries to take down infringing content and terminate services under certain circumstances, 138 and only under state direction.139 Article 5 of Circular 07 does this by stipulating that ISPs have a duty to remove and delete “content of digital information which violates copyright and related rights, cutting, stopping and suspension of the Internet line, telecommunication line as receiving request in written of the inspector of the Ministry of Information and Communications or inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or other competent State agencies as prescribed Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 68 by law”.140 Despite the existence of such regulation, this authority has been used in practice only in very narrow circumstances where online services and websites are directly infringing.141 This is likely because Circular 07 does not spell out clear penalties against ISPs for violating such a duty and a general lack of enforcement by the Vietnamese government.142 Further, the type of blocking provided in Circular 07 may only apply to websites that use the "internet services of a Vietnam company," i.e., if an infringing website uses a host that is provided by a Vietnamese company, registered a domain name with a Vietnamese Company (Vietnamese registrar), or uses an IP address that is managed by a Vietnamese company. 143 If this is correct, the effectiveness of the website blocking provision will be greatly different and even reduced144, as it does not account for the borderless nature of online piracy. Moreover, it does not seem like Circular 07 allows for dynamic injunctions or blocking against ISPs. When placed together with Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property, it is hard to see any concrete avenues for rights holders to hold ISPs accountable for the rampant online piracy that is occurring in Vietnam. The main issue with Circular 07 is not that it does not create some form of site blocking in Vietnam, but rather it creates a form of site blocking so toothless that it is ineffective. 140 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5. 141 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 140 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5. 141 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 142 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 107; See also Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127. 143 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 1; IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 144 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 145 Nguyen Huy Hoang, Ho Thi Le Tra, Market access conditions applied to foreign investors under Decree No. 31/2021/nd-cp, Lexology, 20 September 2021, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=35eb4d79-ad70-4865-8fc6-6a03760f6a6e/; See also IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 146 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 147 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 106. 148 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 108-9. 149 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 109. 150 Id. at 148. 151 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 53 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 152 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 108. B. Site Blocking in Vietnam: Possible Approaches While a complex array of overlapping factors seems to be the reason behind Vietnam’s currently lackluster copyright regime, the main obstacle seems is a lack of effective ISP regulation. When ISPs are not compelled to move against infringement it creates an environment where the online world is insulated from laws. This creates a flight of infringers online to escape the reach of the law. 151 This is happening online in Vietnam.152 Thus, any solution to online piracy in Vietnam must be able to bring the law into the online world. Effective site blocking arises as a means for bringing physical legal consequences into the online sphere. By enacting a clear, and responsive site blocking regime, Vietnam can begin to hold ISPs accountable for the infringing activity that they facilitate and prevent infringers from accessing those sites. However, if there are any lessons to be learned from Vietnam’s experience with Circular 07 and other countries’ experiences, site blocking regimes cannot be limited by the geographic location or domain names. They must be allowed to act on any site based on the qualitative nature of the site towards copyright infringement. The enactment of such a regime can happen in Vietnam in many ways, this note looks proposes two possible approaches that are feasible and considers their effect on online piracy in Vietnam. 3. Structural Problems Moreover, there are issues with Vietnam’s legal and market system which contribute to a culture of online piracy. Vietnam has and continues to have restrictions preventing foreign companies from setting up subsidiaries to distribute “cultural products” and has entry barriers around the importation and distribution of copyrighted works.145 These restrictions on market access fosters a demand for pirated content, which inevitably pushes Vietnamese consumers towards their illegal alternatives.146 145 Nguyen Huy Hoang, Ho Thi Le Tra, Market access conditions applied to foreign investors under Decree No. 31/2021/nd-cp, Lexology, 20 September 2021, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=35eb4d79-ad70-4865-8fc6-6a03760f6a6e/; See also IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 146 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 112. 69 Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking Another issue is that no John Doe suits are allowed for the enforcement of copyright.147 This means that, unlike in India, in order to sue for infringement rights holders are required to acquire evidence of each infringer. The lack of John Doe suits and the impossibility of investigation, when placed together with the fact that the Vietnamese have been known to impose onerous and detailed requirements around the identification of infringers 148 are all indicative of an enforcement system that is not necessarily functioning. It should come as no surprise that to date there has never been any criminal proceeding brought for online infringement.149 More significantly, they pose problems for rights holders who may eventually wish to seek redress via a site blocking order but cannot because they lack the ability to ascertain if there is infringement or who is infringing. Further, Vietnam has laws around foreigners conducting investigations which prevents rights holders from effectively discerning if their works are being infringed or gathering evidence to meet Vietnam’s already amorphous yet onerous standards around online piracy and copyright enforcement.150 153 Id, at 112. 154 Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society, art. 8, 2001 O.J. (L 167) 155 Peter Carstairs, supra note 30 at 284-85. See also Australia, Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act (2018), Section 115A; Professor Justin Hughes, response to questions from Senators Tillis, Coons, and Blumenthal, Senate Judiciary Committee / Intellectual Property Subcommittee, 11 & 42, 14 April 2020 (noting the similarities in the Australian and Singaporean site blocking statutes). 156 Id. at 148. 157 IIPA 2021 Special 301 Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement submitted to the USTR, supra note 9 at 113. 158 Id, at 148. 159 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5(3). 1. A Statutory Approach One approach Vietnam could take to institute a site blocking regime would be to draw from the Singaporean or French experiences and introduce statutory measures which Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 70 directly enact a Vietnamese site blocking regime that reflects current international norms. This could happen in two ways. Vietnam could, drawing from their French tradition, embrace the broad approach that is traditional to civil law jurisdictions153 and enact a broad statute allowing for rights holders to apply for injunctions when ISP services are being used to infringe copyright. A broad statute establishing such a site blocking regime is likely to look like Article 8(3) of the EU, 2001 Information Society Directive or the other French statutes mentioned above154. This would largely leave effective enforcement to Vietnam’s courts. Alternatively, Vietnam could look to its neighbor Singapore and enact a rather tailored statute, which clearly identifies the scope of the site blocking regime. Such a statute would not look very different from those in Australia.155 In light of Vietnam’s existing judicial and statutory system, this approach does not seem wise. Given the onerous evidentiary requirements and inability of foreign rights holders to investigate any infringement156, it is unlikely that such an approach would be able to successfully change the status quo. In fact, this becomes all the more obvious when there has been a conversation around court reform in Vietnam, particularly in the intellectual property space.157 Furthermore, while a tailored statutory framework may provide more guidance to Vietnam’s courts in their implementation of a site blocking regime, it still does not solve the fact that cases will have to be brought within Vietnam’s onerous evidentiary and investigatory laws.158 The above analysis shows that any statutory approach altering Vietnam’s legal code towards establishing a site blocking regime would likely require secondary legal reforms to even remotely be able to operate. This makes it unlikely that such an approach will have much success in helping Vietnam achieve a more robust copyright regime. , 159 Joint Circular No. 07/2012/TTLT-BTTTT-BVHTTDL of June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Stipulating Duty of Enterprises Providing Intermediary Service in Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internet and Telecommunication Networks Environment, supra note 127 at Article 5(3). 2. Administrative Approach A more promising approach towards introducing an effective site blocking regime in Vietnam is via administrative law. This approach largely relies on the fact that Circular 07 has already given Vietnamese inspectors at the Ministry of Information and Communications or the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism the authority to impose a duty on ISPs to takedown infringing content and stop access. 159 Given that those ministries already have the power to impose site blocking orders on ISPs, one possibility would be the creation of more regulations outlining how rights holders can petition the Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 71 various ministries for relief. This approach has the benefit of allowing the Vietnamese government the flexibility to leave most of their current legal framework entirely intact and simply shift its approach to online piracy within its governmental bureaucracy. This is because a regulatory approach via administrative law allows the Vietnamese ministries to simply stipulate whatever it wishes to consider when asking an ISP to block a site. This would bypass any conflicts with existing issues concerning onerous evidentiary requirements and help lessen the effect of restrictive foreign investigation restrictions. However, as we have observed from the international experience with site blocking, effective site blocking regimes operate best when there are clear standards are establishing FIOLs followed by flexible and responsive enforcement. This responsive enforcement is usually categorized by allowing for the subsequent blocking of the same sites under changed domain names, URLs, IP addresses, and more. As such this administrative approach is likely to look like the blacklist of illicit sites that the French were considering, 160 with the procedure for filings mirroring satisfaction of the factors articulated in the Indian and Singaporean experiences in defining FIOLs. It should also allow for blocking orders from the ministries to function like dynamic injunctions by allowing subsequent affidavits to be submitted to allow changes in domain names, URLs, and IP address, to be added to the blacklist. While seemingly effortless, the establishment of a site blocking regime via the ministries may require the ministries to amend Circular 07 to address what happens in the event ISPs do not comply with an administrative order. This is so site blocking orders from the ministry are obeyed and have teeth. 160 Nigel Cory, supra note 6; Ernesto Van der Sar, supra note 118. 161 There has been some commentary that such unilateral power over copyright law can have effects on the nature of free speech, particularly in countries with more communistic style governments, See Stephen McIntyre, The Yang Obeys, but the Yin Ignores: Copyright Law and Speech Suppression in the People's Republic of China., 29 UCLA PAC. BASIN L.J. 75, 77-81(2011). 2. Administrative Approach Furthermore, an administrative driven approach to site blocking would not be difficult for the Vietnamese government to implement but may require an increase in the number and effectiveness of its administrative personnel to adequately address the various petitions that will inevitably be filed. It should also be noted that such an approach does place a disproportionate amount of power to censor the internet in the hands of the Vietnamese government.161 Despite this, an administrative approach to site blocking in Vietnam seems like the most efficient and painless approach possible. 162 UTV Software Communication Ltd. V 1337X, (2019) Civil Suit No. 768 of 2018, ¶ 59 (Del. H.C.) (Apr. 10, 2019) (India). 163 Singapore, Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of Singapore Laws), Article 193DDA (revised 31st January 2006). CONCLUSION The growth and expansion of Vietnam’s online marketplace poses serious challenges to effective copyright enforcement, especially in light of its intellectual property laws. Vietnam’s increasing economic development and accession to various economic treaties makes it an increasingly attractive location for investment in the global economy. This includes many domestic and foreign authors and copyright holders who may want to sell and distribute their works to a captive audience. However, the prevalence of online piracy in Vietnam poses a major obstacle to the development of Vietnam’s creative economy. Vietnam’s recent ratification of the CPTPP and accession to the WCT late last year, make how Vietnam eventually addresses online piracy all the more pertinent. At first glance, Vietnam’s online piracy appears to be a challenging problem. Fortunately, many nations have effectively dealt with the threat of online piracy to Effective Anti-Piracy in Vietnam: A Journey Through Site Blocking 72 copyright through the implementation of site blocking. Vietnam’s Asian neighbors are no strangers to site blocking and can serve as guides for what might be possible in Vietnam. Ideally, good site blocking regimes possess clear rules which allow for the identification of FIOLs and responsive enforcement mechanisms to address guileful bad actors. In common law jurisdictions, like India162 and Singapore163, this has resulted in clear factor tests followed by dynamic injunctions. In contrast, civil law jurisdictions have also found success in well-constructed broad statutes that allow their courts to effectively address the idiosyncrasies of the case in front of them. The bitter pill is that Vietnam has a myriad of options and jurisdictions from which it can take lessons to implement an efficient copyright enforcement regime that includes site blocking as one of its tools. However, none of those options that currently exist can be implemented without some changes to Vietnam’s existing framework. This is further exacerbated by the reality that Vietnam’s obligations to the CPTPP and the WCT have come due which requires Vietnam to act now.
https://openalex.org/W4237553031	https://zenodo.org/records/1507591/files/article.pdf	English	null	Also	Neophilologus	1,918	public-domain	668	ALSO. Giinther, in his English Synonyms explained and illustrated, states that "Neither too nor also are found at the head of a sentence". This is evidently a slip, for Smith, in Synonyms Discriminated, concludes his article on Also, too, likewise, besides with the words: 'Grammatically, Too cannot begin a sentence, while Also can'. g Smith gives no examples, however. M/itzner, Engl. Orammalik III, p. 371, has a quotation from the A. I7. (1611): 'I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan (Deuter. 31. 2). Poutsma, on p. 298 Part. I of Orammar of Late Modern English, states the following rule: "Also precedes the clause it belongs to." There is however but one quotation, in which, moreover, also may be reckoned to belong to a clause understood: 'These are the more patent facts, which are to be deduced from this hat. Also, by the way, that it is ex- tremely improbable that he has gas laid on in his house (Sh. Holmes, Blue Carbuncle). Kriiger, Schmidt, and Storm are silent on the subject. ) g j That also really does occur at the head of a sentence, is proved by the following quotations: 1. This Ronald has faced death and danger and learnt the meaning of responsibility. Also he is the head of the house. (Rita, The Pointing" Finger. Edition Van Hasselt. StoKes and Sketches, p. 24). 1. This Ronald has faced death and danger and learnt the meaning of responsibility. Also he is the head of the house. (Rita, The Pointing" Finger. Edition Van Hasselt. StoKes and Sketches, p. 24). g p ) 2'. Ernest Saunders follows her lead. Also he regards me with pity because I don't play golf (Barry Pain, The One Before, Nelson's Ed., p. 147). 3. He says he'll never give you up. I'm to tell you that. Also, only he didn't say I was to tell you this-he is scared pea-green by grandfather, and' doesn't dare say so much as "boo" to him. (Bar. v. Hutten, Pare, p. 154). y p 4. Traquair had a good opportunity of studying her face, which pleased him well. Also he observed that she wore the deepest mourning (A. S. Swan, A Mask of Oold, p. 103). f p ) 5. ALSO. And we have grown up[ Our hair is braided around our head, our shirts are long, and we have a figure! To say nothing of a lover." . .... "Also, we laugh at the unfortunate who ventures to love, and not to please us." (Bar. v. Hutten, Pare, p. 110). f p 5. And we have grown up[ Our hair is braided around our head, our shirts are long, and we have a figure! To say nothing of a lover." . .... g g y g "Also, we laugh at the unfortunate who ventures to love, and not to please us." (Bar. v. Hutten, Pare, p. 110). 6. For if the oak is to become a stately tree we must provide against the crowding of timber. Also the tree beset with parasites prospers not. G. Meredith, The Egoist, Ch. I, 6. For if the oak is to become a stately tree we must provide against the crowding of timber. Also the tree beset with parasites prospers not. G. Meredith, The Egoist, Ch. I, 6. For if the oak is to become a stately tree we must provide against the crowding of timber. Also the tree beset with parasites prospers not. G. Meredith, The Egoist, Ch. I, W.A. VAN DONGEN. Rotterdam. van Dongen. van Dongen. van Dongen. van Dongen. 158 Also. Also. BOEKAANKONDIOING. Le tome XXXIX, 2e pattie, des Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la Biblioth~que nationale et autres biblioth~ques contient une Notice du Ma- nuscrit franeals 12483, par M. Arthur l_~ng'fors. Ce manuscrit est un recueiI compos6 en l'honneur de la Vierge eta depuis long-temps attir~ l'attention des savants, mais M. Ungfors est le premier qui l'ait 6tudi~ m6thodiqt:ement
https://openalex.org/W2101995483	https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/RCED/article/download/RCED0505220623A/15998	Spanish; Castilian	null	Cómo aprenden los profesores. Un estudio empírico basado en entrevistas	DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)	2,006	cc-by	9,942	"ABSTRACT The main aim of this study is to describe the different conceptions that teachers hold abo(...TRUNCATED)
https://openalex.org/W4243776760	https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/yrke/article/download/2008/1821	Norwegian	null	"Fra fagarbeider til yrkesfaglærer: Førsteårsstudenters opplevelser av undervisning og veiledning(...TRUNCATED)	Scandinavian Journal of Vocations in Development	2,017	cc-by	7,736	"Marit Lindset & Britt Karin Støen Utvær (2017). Fra \nfagarbeider til yrkesfaglærer: Førsteårs(...TRUNCATED)
https://openalex.org/W4287633533	https://zenodo.org/records/5803192/files/Estado_de_espanto_-_Laurita_Salles_-_116.pdf	es		ESTADO DE ESPANTO	Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)	2,020	cc-by	3,622	"Estado de espanto\nAstonished state\nLaurita Ricardo de Salles1\nEquipes Laboratório 10 Dimensões(...TRUNCATED)
https://openalex.org/W4298004949	https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C0F25F64E1E8A249435BEEF7DAFF46C8/S0034412522000531a.pdf/div-class-title-is-the-desire-for-life-rational-div.pdf	English	null	Is the desire for life rational?	Religious studies	2,022	cc-by	15,017	"© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an Open Access article, di(...TRUNCATED)
https://openalex.org/W2965006566	https://upcommons.upc.edu/bitstream/2117/171866/1/08788546.pdf	English	null	"Exploration of Intercell Wireless Millimeter-Wave Communication in the Landscape of Intelligent Met(...TRUNCATED)	IEEE access	2,019	cc-by	17,315	"Exploration of Intercell Wireless Millimeter-Wave\nCommunication in the Landscape of\nIntelligent M(...TRUNCATED)
https://openalex.org/W2095232120	https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0121550&type=printable	English	null	"Expression of the Immunoglobulin Superfamily Cell Adhesion Molecules in the Developing Spinal Cord (...TRUNCATED)	PloS one	2,015	cc-by	8,836	"RESEARCH ARTICLE Expression of the Immunoglobulin\nSuperfamily Cell Adhesion Molecules in the\nDeve(...TRUNCATED)
https://openalex.org/W4213359484	https://iris.luiss.it/bitstream/11385/215146/1/sustainability-14-02228.pdf	Latin	null	The Impact of COVID-19 on Public/Third-Sector Collaboration in the Italian Context	Sustainability	2,022	cc-by	11,130	"Luigi Corvo 1, Lavinia Pastore 1,*, Marco Mastrodascio 2 and Luca Tricarico 3 Luigi Co(...TRUNCATED)

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Open Science Dataset

Overview

Open Science is a large-scale, permissively licensed text dataset derived from OpenAlex, containing over 100B (105,390,332,599) words. OpenAlex is an open database of scholarly publications, authors, institutions, and research outputs that serves as a comprehensive source for academic literature.

Key Features

Truly Open: Contains only permissively licensed data suitable for both commercial and non-commercial use
Multilingual Coverage: Predominantly English with significant representation of Portuguese, German, Indonesian, Russian, and Spanish
Academic Diversity: Encompasses journal articles, books, datasets, theses, and other document types

Dataset Statistics

License distribution:

cc-by      ███████████████████████████████ 93.09%
cc-by-sa   ██ 3.68%
public     ██ 3.23%

Total number of documents: 11,534,164
Language Distribution

Language	Document Count	Word Count	% of Total Words
English	9,692,480	91,961,796,098	87.28%
Portuguese	381,719	2,911,255,370	2.76%
German	167,130	1,606,879,128	1.53%
Indonesian	297,645	1,370,676,366	1.30%
Russian	199,317	1,235,729,351	1.17%
Spanish	189,305	1,548,199,226	1.47%

Dataset Structure

Data Fields

Field
identifier
pdf_url
lang
error
title
source_name
publication_year
license
word_count
text

How to Use

Installation

from datasets import load_dataset
dataset = load_dataset('PleIAs/openscource')

Considerations and Limitations

While permissively licensed, users should verify compatibility with their specific use case
Language distribution may not be uniform
Historical texts may contain dated terminology or perspectives